ROY  NORTON 


FRED  LOCKLEY 

RARE  WESTERN  BOOKS 

4227  S.  E.  Stark  St. 
PORTLAND.  OR' 


V 


•  »  * 


Burmah  reeled  as  if  the  world  was  slipping  from  him  and  fell 
crumpled  at  their  feet. 


THE  BOOMERS 


BT 


ROY   NORTON 

Author  The  Garden  of  Fate,  The  Plunderer,  etc. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  :BY 
W.    GOLDBECK 


»  •  » .  J 


New  York 
W.  J.  WATT  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHEKS 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
W.  J.  WATT  &  COMPANY 


To 
WILLIAM  A.  BAKER,  Esq., 

WHOSE     WANDERING     FEET    TEEAD    MUCH 
OF  THE   EARTH  AND   WHO 
IS  AN  APOSTLE   OF 
FRIENDSHIP. 


M  8005 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PA6E 

I.  A   Heabtless    Knave   and    a    Gentle    Dbeameb 

Meet 7 

II.  And  the  Dbeameb  is  Wobsted 23 

III.  But  the  Knave  Develops  a  Conscience 36 

IV.  And  Conscience  Involves  Him   50 

V.  The  Dbeameb's  Daughtee  Faib  Joubneys 59 

VI.  While  the  Knave  Lays  Plans 69 

VII.  To  Rob  the  Tbustful   82 

VIII.  The  Knave  Plunges  Deepeb  98 

IX.  The  Daughter  Abbives    110 

X.  And  They  Visit  Utopia   128 

XI.  Yet  the  Knave  Rests  Not 145 

XII.  A  Race  for  a  Fortune  157 

XIII.  Bbings  an  Honest  Tale  175 

XIV.  And  the  Knave  Fights   201 

XV.  A  Good  but  Hopeless  Battle 216 

XVI.  The  Dbeameb  is  Extbavagant  228 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAFTEB  PAGE 

XVII.  And  Lands  a  Menagebie 245 

XVIII.  And  the  Knave  Runs  Away 260 

XIX.  To  BE  Mastebed  by  Honesty  271 

XX.  The  Dbeameb  Upsets  Evebything  283 

XXI.  Much  to  the  Refobmed  Knave's  Distbess 300 

XXII.  And  All  Is  Ruin   312 

XXIII.  The  Knave  Sacbifices  His  All   330 

XXIV.  Befobe   Saying  Fabewell    349 

XXV.  But  Fate  Intebvenes 356 

XXVI.  The  Knave  Confesses  365 

XXVII.  To  Dwell  With  Honob  380 


» »  »  > »   »  » 

I  »       >  * 


•       •    »  » 


THE  BOOMERS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  HEAETLESS  KNAVE  AND  A  GENTLE  DEEAMER  MEET. 

Colonel  Alonzo  Faiefax  Hatch,  somewhat  dis- 
consolately pacing  the  sunlit  deck  of  The  Golden 
Eagle,  was  filled  with  conflicting  emotions.  First, 
he  was  a  sociable  old  gentleman,  and  the  passengers 
neither  knew  him  nor  talked  to  him,  nor  cared  who  he 
was ;  second,  he  had  lost  his  hand-bag,  having  quite 
carelessly  walked  off  and  left  it  on  the  pier  at  Seattle ; 
third,  somebody  "without  heart  or  honor.  Sir,"  had 
picked  his  pockets.  None  of  these  three  disturbing 
elements  could  have  entered  into  his  life  in  Chat- 
tanooga, Tennessee,  whence  he  came. 

"Pshaw!  The  worst  of  it  is,"  he  communed, 
"that  Arabella's  pot  of  strawberry  jam  is  in  that 
satchel !  That,  and  two  shirts,  and  four  collars ;  but, 
anyhow,  I  saved  mighty  near  forty  cents  laundry  on 
them.     It's  a  heap  better  than  losing  clean  stuff." 

Which  philosophical  afterthought  appeared  to 
ease  the  Colonel's  mind  and  convince  him  that,  after 
all,  fortune  favored  him.  His  hand  came  down  from 
the  heavy  white  goatee,  which  in  moments  of  abstrac- 
tion it  was  his  habit  to  stroke,  and  sought  the  pockets 
of  the  old  style  "Prince  Albert"  coat,  to  which  he 
clung  through  tradition.  The  coat  was  buttoned,  it 
was  immaculately  clean,  and  it  hung  straight  over 
the  carefully  creased  trousers.     The  carnation  in  the 

7 


a  THE  BOOMERS. 

lapel  shone  as  fresh  as  when  the  Colonel  had  pur- 
chased it  from  a  flower-vendor  at  the  dock,  grace- 
fully lifted  his  hat  to  her,  paid  her  a  compliment  on 
its  fulness,  and  lovingly  pinned  it  in  place. 

"Three  things.  Miss,  I  have  always  loved,"  he  had 
told  the  astonished  daughter  of  Italy;  "women, 
lowers,  and  horses.  I  wish  you  a  very  good  morning.'* 

But  now,  with  the  flower  still  fresh,  his  hand  slipped 
tentatively,  abstractedly,  as  if  impelled  by  its  own 
volition,  to  the  tails  of  his  coat,  and  thence  inward, 
to  appear  a  moment  later  with  a  bag  that  had  bulged 
the  symmetry  of  his  apparel.  The  hand  seemed  to 
swing  around,  still  by  its  own  volition,  and  hold  it- 
self up  for  the  Colonel's  attention.  Almost  as  if 
surprised  at  meeting  an  old  friend,  the  Colonel  looked 
at  the  bag. 

"Oh,  yes,  those  goobers!"  the  Colonel  exclaimed, 
delightedly,  and  then  sauntered  to  the  protection  of 
The  Golden  Eagle's  smoke-stack,  and  began  to  eat 
peanuts  with  the  air  and  relish  of  a  connoisseur. 
^'  Some's  cocks,  and  some's  culls,"  he  meditated, 
fingering  the  tubers.  "  Can't  get  good  tubers  north 
of  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  A  gentleman  wouldn't 
endeavor  to  make  a  success  of  a  commercial  pursuit 
by  mixin'  his  peanuts.     No,  Sir !" 

With  which  censure  of  gentlemen  in  the  peanut 
business,  the  Colonel  finished  the  last  golden-brown 
nut,  walked  carefully  to  the  rail,  and  threw  the 
crumpled  paper  bag  containing  the  shells  overboard. 
The  wind  carried  it  outward;  then  inward,  as  the 
steamer  hurried  along  the  beautiful  waters  of  Puget 
Sound,  and  it  came  to  rest  on  deck  again,  as  if 
loath  to  be  drowned. 


THE  BOOMERS.  9 

"Pshaw!"  said  the  Colonel,  and,  hastily  going 
aft,  he  chased  the  recalcitrant  bag  around,  his  coat- 
tails  flapping  each  time  he  dived  for  it,  until  he  had 
seized,  and  again  consigned  it  to  the  rail  on  the 
windward  side.  The  grinning  deck-hand  thereupon 
decided  that  this  odd  passenger  was  a  man  of  clean- 
ly and  methodical  habits,  and  rescued  the  Colonel's 
big-brimmed  black  felt  hat,  which  had  become 
loosened  in  his  latest  effort,  and  threatened  a  longing 
to  keep  company  with  the  gaily  floating  bag. 

The  Colonel  thanked  the  deck-hand  with  all  the 
courtesy  at  his  command,  and  would  have  presented 
him  with  a  bill  had  there  been  one  in  his  possession. 
He  apologised  for  this  seeming  stinginess,  until  the 
deck-hand  told  him  that  everything  was  all  right, 
and  wished  him  luck;  but,  being  a  deck-hand,  he 
afterward  referred  to  the  Colonel  as  a  "queer  old 
gook,"  which  could  be  taken  in  a  complimentary 
sense,  or  otherwise. 

A  party  of  girl  excursionists  halted  near  the  Colo- 
nel, and  indulged  in  rapturous  youthful  adjectives 
to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  green  shores,  the 
distant  mountains,  and  the  quiet  coves  that  seemed 
slipping  backward  past  The  Golden  Eagle.  The 
lone  old  adventurer  hovered  as  close  to  the  girls  as 
he  dared,  and  was  made  homesick  for  his  daughter, 
Arabella,  the  sole  other  living  member  of  his  own 
family,  away  back  there  in  Tennessee.  He  wet  his 
lips  to  speak,  and  timidly  thought  of  sentences  by 
which  he  might  interject  himself  into  the  youthful 
company.  His  eagerness  to  talk  to  this  heedless 
group  of  maids  was  pathetic,  for  he  suffered  the 
tortures  of  a  hungry,  lonesome  heart.       Down  in 


10  THE  EOOMERS. 

Chattanooga  he  dared  talk  to  all  of  them,  and  there 
were  whole  dozens  of  girls  like  these,  who  exuberantl;^; 
would  have  expressed  their  love  and  confidence  in 
him  by  kissing  his  white  old  cheek,  or  patting  it 
with  soft,  tender  hands.  It  seemed  years  instead  of 
but  a  few  days  since  he  had  seen  or  heard  any  of 
them.  It  seemed  ages  since  he  had  begun  the  quest, 
since  he  had  bravely  started  out,  a  fine  young  man 
of  sixty-five,  to  conquer  fortune  and  the  world. 

And  that  was  what  he  was  now  doing,  away  up 
there  on  Puget  Sound,  in  the  new  and  fabulous 
far  North-west. 

On  the  day  when  his  lawyer  sorrowfully  told  him 
that  the  failure  of  a  bank  of  which  he  had  been 
director,  was  breaking  and  impoverishing  some  few 
hundred  stock-holders,  the  Colonel  had  frowned  from 
his  bewildered,  kindly  old  eyes,  and  drawn  down  his 
heavy  gray  eyebrows,  and  stroked  his  white  mus- 
tache and  goatee,  then  said: 

"Judge,  you  know.  Sir,  that  there  is  but  one  thing 
for  a  man  of  honor  to  do.  That  one  thing  is  to  give 
what  he  has  until  every  dollar  is  paid.  I  had  a  right 
smart  time,  as  you  may  remember,  cleaning  up  things 
when  we  all  came  back  from  the  war.  All  of  us  did. 
Most  of  us  made  good.  Sir.  The  Marquard  planta- 
tion is  to  be  put  on  the  market,  to-morrow!" 

He  slapped  an  emphatic  fiston  the  ^able,  and  the  law- 
yer, and  old  comrade  in  arms,  sought  to  dissuade  him. 

"  Why,  Colonel  Hatch,"  he  said,  "  it'll  bust  you 
wide  open  just  like  a  ripe  melon  that's  been  dropped 
off 'n  a  wagon !  And  the  Marquard  has  been  owned 
by  none  but  a  Hatch,  Sir,  for  nigh  on  to  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years.    And " 


THE  BOOMERS.  11 

"See  here,  Yancey,"  the  Colonel  interrupted.  "The 
Hatches  always  paid  when  they  could.  I  can  pay 
back  every  dollar  lost  by  that  poor  unfortunate " 

"  Scoundrel — Williams !  " 

"No,  poor,  unfortunate  Williams,"  the  Colonel 
went  on,  with  his  soft,  patient  drawl,  "and  Yancey, 
if  it  wasn't  for  Arabella,  I  wouldn't  mind  it  a  bit. 
Besides,  I've  always  insisted,  Yancey,  that,  if  a  gentle- 
man were  to  turn  his  attention  to  commercial  pur- 
suits, he  could  make  money.  Look  at  me!  I'm 
still  a  gentleman,  and  not  too  old  to  begin  all  over 
again,  Sir!" 

He  had  stood  up,  on  that  day,  and  thrown  his 
chest  out,  and  glared  defiance,  as  if  at  a  whole  world 
of  money-seeking  gentlemen  from  whom  he  pro- 
posed to  wrest  his  share  of  the  world's  goods.  And 
he  had  squared  his  shoulders,  and  held  his  head  high 
on  that  day  when  the  last  depositor  of  the  ill-fated, 
ill-managed  bank  had  been  paid  from  the  proceeds 
of  the  Marquard  sale,  and  wet-eyed  old  Yancey  Price 
had  opened  papers  with  trembling  hands,  and  told 
him  that  he  was  no  longer  a  rich  man,  and  had  left 
but  seven  thousand  dollars,  a  right  to  live  in  the 
family  homestead  for  three  months,  and  possession 
of  the  family  heirlooms.  The  Colonel  had  pored 
over  literature  with  a  grave  face,  and  studied  the 
direction  for  his  venture.  He  had  bought  his  ticket 
with  an  untrembling  voice,  when  he,  who  had  never 
been  farther  from  home  than  Baltimore,  decided  to 
choose  the  State  of  Washington  as  the  place  to  begin 
life  anew.  He  had  not  confessed  to  a  living  soul  the 
terrors  that  such  a  prodigious  journey  held  for 
him,  and  the  preparations  that  he  made  were  such 


12  THE  BOOMERS. 

as  some  might  make  when  going  to  the  heart  of 
Africa,  or  on  a  quest  for  the  North  Pole.  He  had 
smiled  at  his  neighbors  and  friends  when  they  bade 
him  good-bj,  assuring  them,  with  that  sturdy  war 
cry  of  his,  that  "  Any  gentleman,  if  he  but  turn  his 
attention  to  commercial  pursuits,  can  become  rich." 
He  indulged  in  much  flowery  oratory,  also,  and  main- 
tained that  brave  fighting  front,  though  by  nights 
he  tumbled  and  lay  awake  in  his  bed,  thinking  of 
all  the  misfortunes  that  had  befallen  his  house,  and 
wondering  what  was  to  become  of  Arabella  if  by 
any  chance  that  "  Yoick ! "  of  his  failed  of  a  brush. 
And  bravely  had  he  stood  on  the  platform  of  the 
rear  car  on  the  day  of  departure,  bowing  his  white 
old  head,  with  hat  in  hand,  when  the  station,  with  all 
the  crowd  that  had  come  to  see  him  depart,  receded 
from  sight. 

It  had  all  seemed  very  easy,  when  he  started,  and, 
to  fortify  himself  with  worldly  wisdom,  the  had 
read.  Smiles'  "Advice  to  Young  Men,"  stingy  inter- 
views from  Rockefeller,  Morgan,  Carnegie,  and  other 
renowned  magnates.  These  had  agreed  that  all  a 
young  man  starting  in  life  required  was  industry 
and  penuriousness.  Sage  appealed  to  him  quite  a 
good  deal,  and  he  had  a  fond  mental  picture  of  that 
veteran  philanthropist  sedately  and  cautiously  eating 
a  five-cent  chunk  of  pie,  while,  on  the  next  stool  at 
the  lunch-counter,  sat  that  other  eminent  humani- 
tarian and  mentor.  Jay  Gould.  The  only  trouble 
with  both  of  them  was,  from  the  Colonel's  philo- 
sophical view-point,  that  each  had  millions  before  he 
ate  the  pie.  He  was  quite  sure  that  he,  too,  would 
be  willing  to  lunch  on  a  glass  of  milk  and  a  piece  of 


THE  BOOMERS.  18 

pie,  if  he  knew,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  had  seven- 
teen hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  the  bank  with 
which  to  buy  terrapin  if  the  pie-crop  failed.  Some- 
how all  this  advice  they  gave  fell  flat.  He  had  voted 
for  Greeley,  who  advised  beginners  to  go  West,  and 
now  he  clung  to  Greeley ;  but  the  West  proved  strange 
and  unhomelike.  In  Seattle,  he  had  stopped  at  a 
four-dollar-a-day  hotel,  waiting,  quite  eagerly,  for 
Miss  Opportunity  to  interrupt  him  at  his  meals.  He 
had  listened,  hungrily,  for  her  to  call  him  up  over 
the  telephone,  always  to  learn  that  she  rang  for 
Isaac  Levinsky,  or  Si  Hawkins,  and  immediately 
after  leaving  the  booth,  both  Si  and  Isaac  usually 
rushed  off  with  a  sample-case  to  show  her  their 
wares,  hot-footing  it  toward  her  abode.  Yet  he  was 
undaunted.  His  guidon  was  now  threadbare;  his 
banner  of  intent  was  frayed  around  the  edges  where 
he  had  stubbornly  swung  it  to  the  Washington  breeze. 
Its  letters  were  faded  in  those  few  weeks,  but  still 
"bore  that  strange  device";  "Any  gentleman  can 
make  money.  Sir,  if  he  but  turn  his  attention  to 
commercial  pursuits." 

Now,  he  was  on  the  excursion  because  it  had  been 
advertised  as  a  rare  bargain,  and  bargains  had  al- 
ways appealed  to  him,  whether  they  were  for  clothes- 
pins, talking  machines,  or  dogs.  Plainly,  also,  when 
he  counted  over  his  funds  at  the  hotel  before  starting, 
he  was  distressed  because  his  capital  had  steadily  and 
alarmingly  decreased.  He  felt,  for  a  time,  that  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  foregone  the  bargain. 

"  I  must  get  to  work,  mighty  soon,"  he  had  said. 
"  Right  soon  after  I  get  back,  I  must  start  this-here 
commercial  pursuit.     Arabella's  got  faith  in  me,  and 


14  THE  BOOMERS. 

all  my  neighbors  down  there  in  Chattanooga  expect' 
me  to  do  something.     Must  get  to  work !  " 

Then  he  had  sat  down  and  read  Tennyson  for  an 
hour,  and  had  arisen  much  inspirited  in  his  pursuit 
of  millions. 

Exclamations  from  the  group  of  young  ladies  in- 
terrupted the  Colonel's  reverie !  They  were  extolling 
— nay,  rhapsodizing,  over  a  tiny  bay,  a  soaring  cliff, 
gorgeous  trees  and  lofty  mountains,  that  swelled  and 
blended  into  a  picture  as  The  Golden  Eagle  turned 
her  quivering  bow  around  a  headland  of  the  wonder- 
ful sound,  and  changed  her  course.  The  Colonel  had 
always  been  afflicted  with  an  eye  for  beauty. 

"By  Jinks!"  he  declared,  to  himself.  "It  is  a 
fairy  spot!  I'm  tired  of  working  so  hard  to  make 
a  fortune.  If  I  had  that,  and  a  house  on  it,  and  a 
few  good  hounds,  and  a  small  steam  yacht,  I  could  be 
right  happy  there  with  Arabella." 

"I  guess  I  can  sell  it  to  you.  Friend,"  a  voice  broke 
in  behind  him,  and  the  Colonel  was  bashfully  aware 
that  he  had  expressed  his  thought  aloud  in  that 
moment  of  artistic  ecstasy.  He  turned,  and  lifted 
his  hat,  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  speak  to  anyone 
who  would  listen. 

A  fat,  short,  broad  and  red-faced  man,  smooth- 
shaven,  smoothly  groomed,  in  a  checked  suit,  and 
wearing  a  large  double  Albert  watch-chain  across  a 
very  rotund  frontage,  smiled  up  at  him.  The  Colonel 
was  dazzled  by  the  smile,  but  somewhat  critical  over 
the  individual's  taste.  He  had  never  approved  of  a 
checked  business  suit,  a  silk  hat,  a  diamond  shirt- 
stud,  diamond  cuff-links  and  a  blue-bordered  silk 
handkerchief  to   match  blue    cloth-topped   patent- 


THE  BOOMERS.  15 

leather  shoes.  He  wished  the  man  had  a  soft  hat 
and  a  white  handkerchief;  but  the  eyes,  which  framed 
themselves  into  a  vivacious,  merry  twinkle,  held  him. 
There  were  friendliness,  curiosity  and  alert  intelli- 
gence in  their  depths.  They  met  other  eyes  fairly, 
and  laughed,  and  sparkled,  and  expressed  good  hu- 
mor. They  suggested  keenness,  and  many  other 
things.  They  were  eyes  that  might  prove  crafty,  or 
cruel,  or  selfish ;  and  yet  one  might  be  sure  that  they 
looked  on  life  as  a  great  joke  and  a  splendid  show. 

"Yes,  Sir,"  the  little  man  said,  hooking  the  thumbs 
of  his  white,  pudgy  hands  in  the  arm-holes  of  his 
vest,  after  shoving  the  offensive  silk  hat  farther  back 
on  his  head,  "if  you  like  that  land,  I'll  sell  it  to  you. 
Come  on  now.  Sir,  what  do  you  say?" 

For  quite  a  long  time,  the  Colonel  studied  that 
blandly  smiling  face,  and  he  was  compelled  to  melt. 

"I  take  it.  Sir,  that  you  are  its  owner,"  he  said. 
**I'm  right  glad  to  meet  you,  and  congratulate  you 
on  having  such  a  splendid  slice  of  God's  beautiful 
earth." 

"Must  remember  that,"  said  the  stocky  man,  re- 
moving his  hat  and  looking  into  its  crown.  "Good 
idea  for  an  ad!  'God's  beautiful  earth!'  Good 
stuff,  that."  Then  he  replaced  the  hat,  and  looked 
at  the  Colonel. 

"No,"  he  went  on,  "I  don't  own  that  land.  I'm 
a  real-estate  broker.     Permit  me." 

With  amazing  quickness,  he  thrust  his  hand  into 
his  vest-pocket,  then  tendered  his  card.  The  Colonel 
accepted  it,  fumbled  for  his  glasses,  adjusted  them 
to  the  bridge  of  his  high,  thin,  finely  cut  nose,  and 
read: 


le  THE  BOOMERS. 

WILLIAM  BURMAH  JONES 

Real  Estate  Agent 
The  globe  for  sale.    Any,  or  all  of  it,  at  the  custo- 
mers* disposal.      List,   or  buy  your  property 
from  a  live  one,  because  the  dead  ones  all 
specialize  in  cemetery  lots. 

Then  there  had  been  scratched  out  with  the  pen 
the  address  in  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  and  a  Seattle  ad- 
dress substituted. 

"Nifty!  Yes?"  demanded  William  Burmah 
Jones,  twinkling  at  the  Colonel.  "Shows  the  differ- 
ence between  a  hustler  and  a  fogy,  eh.?  My  moth- 
er's name  was  Burmah.  Great  for  that,  the  old  lady 
was.  I  always  print  it  out  in  full  because  she  liked 
it.  Been  gone  a  long  time  now,  but  I  always  do  all  I 
can  to  keep  her  name  before  the  public." 

The  Colonel,  somewhat  bewildered,  assured  him 
that  it  was  very  creditable  to  pay  so  much  honor  to 
his  mother's  memory  on  a  business  card.  Mentally 
he  wondered  if  the  card  was  an  indication  of  what  a 
gentleman  had  to  do  when  he  went  out  after  suc- 
. cess. 

"Now,  about  that  land,"  Jones  continued  briskly; 
"I  can  sell  it  to  you  cheap.  It's  a  bargain,  that's 
what  it  is.  Observe  that  wonderful  bay,  with  a  nat- 
ural place  for  wharves,  sheltered  from  the  winds  and 
the  waves!  Pretty  good,  that!  Sheltered  from  the 
winds  and  the  waves.  Ideal  place.  Sir !  Grow  any- 
thing up  there  on  that  magnificent  hill  behind  it." 

The  Colonel  caught  his  breath  after  this  out- 
burst. 

"Of  course,  Sir,  you  have  been  up  there  on  the 
hill  to  test  the  soil.?"  he  asked. 


THE  BOOMERS.  IT 

"Been  up  tHeie?  Me?  No!  But  Lord  bless 
you,  Man !  'tain't  necessary.  One  can  see  that  from 
here.  Yes,  Siree!  Grow  anything  up  there.  Mister 
— by  the  way,  what  is  your  name?" 

"Hatch,  Sir.  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch,  from 
Chattanoogy,  Tennessee." 

Jones  was  studying  the  Confederate  button  that 
peeped  from  beneath  the  carnation.  He  now  thrust 
out  his  fat,  fleshy,  white  hand,  and  said: 

"Glad  to  meet  you.  Colonel!"  And  the  Colonel, 
so  accustomed  to  the  title,  gave  no  thought  to  its 
use  as  he  accepted  the  hand.  It  warmed  him  up  to 
find  any  one  in  this  lonesome  land  to  whom  he  could 
talk  in  a  friendly  spirit.  Jones  was,  at  the  least, 
company. 

"Officer,  just  a  moment,  please,"  Jones  suddenly 
called  to  the  chief  mate  as  the  latter  passed  them. 
The  officer  halted. 

"Excuse  me  a  moment.  Colonel,"  Jones  said,  hasten- 
ing away  to  the  chief  mate.  "Say,  what's  that  point 
over  there  called?"  he  asked,  in  a  quick  mutter. 

"That !    It's  Squaw  Point." 

"Thanks." 

Jones  returned  to  the  Colonel. 

"Now,  let  me  see!  Where  were  we?  Oh,  yes,  I 
remember,  now.  We  were  talking  about  Squaw 
Point,  that  exquisite  piece  of  nature's  handiwork 
you  see  planted  over  there.  Squaw  Point  can  be 
bought,  Colonel,  I  think.  I  have  some  connection 
with  the  family  that  owns  it.  It  can  be  bought 
cheap — dirt  cheap!     It's  a  bargain,  Colonel!" 

The  Golden  Eagle   swung   farther   around,    and 


18  THE  BOOMERS. 

now  there  was  discernible  a  sand  spit  stretching  out, 
and  on  it  a  hut,  of  the  sort  built  by  fishermen,  or 
squatters,  and  a  small,  weather-beaten  tent.  From 
the  shore  line  of  the  tiny  bay  stretched  a  shallow 
flat,  and  above  that  precipitously  arose  the  splendid 
cliff,  whose  crest  was  wood-crowned.  A  canoe,  with 
a  tiny  rag  of  discolored  canvas,  swept  round  by  the 
steamer's  stern,  and  a  much  tanned  young  man 
looked  up  at  them  with  calm  gray  eyes,  and  waved  a 
hand  in  response  to  their  salute.  A  little  distance 
beyond  him  a  bearded,  forlorn,  slouchy  fisherman 
paused  from  hauling  in  a  net  to  stare  at  them,  and 
they  could  see  the  silvery  thrashing  of  fish  at  his 
feet  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

"See  what  a  perfect  place  for  the  building  of  a 
home!"  enthused  Jones,  calling  the  Colonel's  atten- 
tion to  the  wooded  headland.  "The  bay  is  the  place 
for  the  yacht;  the  hill  the  spot  for  a  home.  Yes, 
Siree!  Nothing  like  it  anywhere  in  the  world!  A 
paradise,  that's  what  she  is !  Finest  climate  in  the 
world.  Wonderful  timber  up  there.  Why,  I  guess  a 
man  could  go  into  the  timber  business,  and  make  a 
fortune  off' n  that  hillside.  More  money  out  here  in 
timber  than  anywhere  on  God  Almighty's  footstool. 
All  the  millionaires  out  here  got  rich  from  timber. 
Just  buy  that  place,  cut  all  that  magnificent  timber 
off,  take  the  money  for  it,  and  build  a  house  on  that 
cleared  land,  and  there  you  are !  What  more  could  a 
man  want?" 

The  Colonel  tried  to  recall  any  millionaire  who 
had  made  his  fortune  from  lumbering.  Neither 
Smiles,  Carnegie,  nor  Sage,  had  given  him  any  ad- 


THE  BOOMERS.  19 

vice  on  that  subject,  and  he  was  convinced  that  Jay 
Gould  had  had  something  to  do  with  railways. 

"I  must  be  cautious,"  he  declared  to  himself. 
"Sage  taught  me  that.  A  gentleman  starting  out  in 
commercial  pursuits  must  move  cautiously." 

Moreover,  he  had  somehow  conceived  the  idea, 
vaguely,  that  he  wanted  to  start  life  as  a  railway 
magnate.  All  the  books  on  success  he  had  read 
taught  him  that  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  save 
money  to  buy  the  object  desired.  Pondering  over 
this,  while  William  Burmah  Jones  rattled  off  a  string 
of  amazing  figures  about  how  many  shingles  could 
be  made  from  one  small  tree,  and  hearing  nothing 
of  the  words,  the  Colonel  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  must  be  conservative.  He  would  follow  the  books 
and  his  inclinations  at  the  same  time !  That  was  it ! 
Save  his  money,  and  buy  a  railway !  He  looked  down 
at  the  emphatic  and  calculating  Mr.  Jones  with  a 
great  resolve  in  his  eyes. 

"I'm  right  sorry.  Sir,"  he  said,  "to  disappoint 
you;  but,  while  it  is  quite  true  that  I  have  some 
small  means.  Sir,  and  seek  investment,  I  favor  rail- 
way projects." 

"Railways?  Humph!  What's  a  railway  com- 
pared with  such  a  magnificent  spot  as  that  there  is? 
Think  of  the  timber.  Colonel!  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands have  been  made  off'n  timber.  Besides  all  that. 
Colonel,  we  need  men  of  your  character  here  In  this 
growin'  country.  We  want  you  with  us.  Maybe  I  can 
get  you  Into  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  over  at  Seattle, 
or  Port  Townsend.  You'd  be  a  credit  to  us,  with  all 
your  vast  knowledge  of  commerce  and  Industry." 


20  THE  BOOMERS. 

Mr,  Jones  failed  to  state  that  he  himself  was  not 
a  member  of  either  of  these  bodies,  and  that  in  his 
pocket  reposed  a  ticket  for  Spokane,  some  hundreds 
of  miles  distant,  which,  he  had  decided,  would  be  his 
next  field  of  conquest.  Indeed,  he  preferred,  if  this 
sale  went  through,  that  there  should  be  several  hun- 
dred miles  between  him  and  the  Colonel  immediately 
after  its  consummation.  A  man  with  the  whole 
globe  for  sale  couldn't  be  expected  to  remain  forever 
in  one  spot !  It  would  be  unjust  to  the  globe.  A  dinner- 
bell  clanged  loudly  through  the  steamer's  length,  and, 
like  a  war-horse  hearing  the  bugle  call  for  the  charge, 
Jones  sniffed  the  air,  and  lifted  his  head. 

"That's  for  the  chewings,"  he  said.  "Come  on. 
Colonel.  First  come,  first  served  on  these  barges." 
But  the  Colonel,  his  poetic  soul  still  entranced  by  the 
passing  scenery,  was  loath  to  miss  any  of  it. 

"Thank  you  kindly.  Sir,"  he  said,  "for  your  invi- 
tation, but  I  think  I  shall  fast  to-day." 

"See  you  later  then.  Colonel,"  Jones  replied.  But 
as  he  hastened  as  rapidly  as  his  short  legs  would  carry 
him  in  the  direction  of  the  dining-saloon,  he  said  to 
himself:  "Invitation.?  Invitation .?  Wonder  if  that 
old  fellow  was  sarcastic,  or  really  meant  it.  Maybe 
that's  the  way  they  do  things  down  there  where  he 
come  from." 

Yet  Mr.  Jones  did  not  appreciate  the  seed  he  had 
sown  in  the  cheerful  adventurer's  mind,  or  how  re- 
luctantly the  Colonel  was  rejecting  the  proposition 
to  buy  Squaw  Point,  the  price  of  which,  or  even 
whether  it  was  for  sale,  neither  he  nor  Mr.  Jones 
knew.     In  fact,  the  Colonel  was  wondering  whether 


THE  BOOMERS.  21 

he  could  not  purchase  the  land,  build  a  fine  home  on 
that  attractive  point,  start  a  saw-mill  to  clear  the 
timber,  then  afterward  raise  cotton  on  that  noble 
headland.  And  all  on  less  than  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars 1  Perhaps  the  railway  could  wait  until  he  had 
saved  more  money.  He  felt  certain  that  Arabella, 
with  all  the  dancing  blood  of  her  twenty  years,  and 
with  her  youthful  desire  for  outdoors,  would  love 
this  spot  if  he  chose  it  for  her  home.  He  wondered 
if  she  would  miss  all  that  retinue  of  admirers  who 
had  known  her  from  girlhood,  paid  assiduous  atten- 
tion to  her,  taken  turns  at  trying  to  persuade  her 
to  marry,  and  kept  hoping,  after  each  rejection, 
that  she  might  relent.  He  was  not  positive  that  he 
did  not  owe  it  to  Arabella's  happiness  to  buy  this 
place  for  her.  She  was  quite  fond  of  fishing,  and 
there  were  fish  in  the  sound,  he  knew,  because  in 
that  fisherman's  boat  he  had  seen  some  of  them.  A 
nice  boat-house  could  be  built  somewhere  down  on 
the  beach  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff.  He  imagined  how 
nice  it  would  look  if  it  were  built  of  stone,  with  a 
place  beneath  for  a  launch,  and  the  whole  upper  part 
devoted  to  a  den  for  Arabella's  exclusive  use.  He 
could  have  a  large  stone  fireplace,  and  a  hard-wood 
floor,  and  big  easy  chairs,  and  a  few  nice  rugs  and 
skins,  and  one  corner  filled  with  books,  all  in  red- 
morocco  bindings.  And  so  his  imagination  went 
sailing  on  much  faster,  but  with  far  less  chance  of 
reaching  a  destination,  than  The  Golden  Eagle  be- 
neath his  feet.  So  intent  was  he  on  the  problem 
that  he  almost  forgot  to  eat  any  luncheon,  and  was 
the  last  one  to  enter  the  saloon  from  which  William 


22  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmah  Jones,  looking  fatter  than  ever,  panting  a 
little  from  over-stuffiness,  and  picking  his  teeth,  was 
just  departing  by  the  opposite  door.  The  broker, 
holding  the  toothpick  quite  airily,  waved  a  pudgy 
hand  at  the  Colonel,  who  promptly  removed  his  hat 
and  bowed,  then  seated  himself  with  a  feeling  of 
thankfulness  that  he  was  alone  where  he  could  still 
think  over  what  kind  of  a  mansion  would  best  befit  that 
wonderful  point  and  prove  pleasing  to  Arabella. 

Indeed,  he  was  quite  free  from  any  interruption 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon  and  even- 
ing, and  discovered  the  cause  when  he  passed  the 
smoking-room  that  squatted  in  isolated  state  forward 
on  the  main  deck.  Jones,  in  shirt-sleeves,  with  his 
silk  hat  tilted  at  a  belligerent  angle  over  his  fair 
brow,  and  chewing  steadily  at  the  remnant  of  a 
frayed  cigar  that  protruded  from  the  wrinkle  at  the 
corner  of  his  mouth,  was  addressing  himself  in  a  tone 
of  firm  expostulation  to  three  other  excursionists. 

"That  stuff's  too  raw  to  try  to  pull  on  me,"  he 
was  asserting  at  the  moment  the  Colonel  paused  by 
the  open  window.  "Any  man  that  draws  one  card 
on  me,  and  then  tries  to  bluff  when  I've  got  fours, 
never  had  the  benefits  of  learnin'  this  noble  game  in 
Fort  Scott,  Kansas.  So,  Siree !  Why,  when  I  think 
of  what  the  boys  down  there  would  do  to  you  in- 
fants, if  you  ever  blew  into  our  town,  it  just  natu- 
rally gives  me  the  first  spell  of  sea-sickness  I've  had 
on  this-here  boat!" 

And  from  the  size  of  the  pile  of  money  that  rested 
in  front  of  Mr.  Jones,  the  Colonel  decided  the  state- 
ment had  been  but  a  bald  utterance  of  truth. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AND  THE  DREAMER  IS  WORSTED. 

The  Colonel,  in  his  room  in  the  Seattle  Hotel,  was 
painstakingly  counting  his  funds  for  the  thousandth 
time  or  so,  when  the  telephone  jangled,  and  he  was 
told: 

"Mister  William  Burmah  Jones  calling,  Sir." 

It  was  the  day  after  his  return  from  the  excur- 
sion, and  he  felt  homesick.  He  had  played  one  hun- 
dred straight  games  of  patience  between  whiles  of 
counting  his  money,  and  passively  awaiting  the  op- 
portunity to  become  rich.  He  had  walked  down  the 
bustling  street  where  prospectors,  bound  for  the  dis- 
tant hills,  timber-cruisers,  with  keen  eyes  and  tanned 
faces,  swaggering  lumbermen  seeing  the  sights,  and 
sailors,  with  rolling  progress,  had  alternately 
bumped  into  him  as,  with  that  worried,  abstracted 
look  on  his  face,  he  sauntered  along,  or  halted  before 
shop  windows,  thinking  how  much  Arabella  would 
enjoy  some  of  the  tempting  articles  therein  exposed. 
Some  of  the  lumber-jacks  had  sworn  at  him,  arous- 
ing a  momentary  flame,  for  he  was  unaccustomed  to 
such  treatment.  He  had  suffered  the  pangs  of 
economy  when  he  thought  of  the  money  expended 
on  the  excursion,  and,  remembering  the  eminent  ex- 
amples of  which  he  had  read,  had  tried  dining  on 
peanuts.  Four  bags  had  left  him  quite  hungry,  and 
he  thought  of  Mr.  Sage. 

"Dog-gone  my  cats!"  he  had  exclaimed.     "What 

23 


24  THE  BOOMERS. 

I  should  have  done  was  to  go  to  a  lunch  counter, 
and  eat  pie  and  such." 

So  he  had  gone  to  a  counter,  perched  on  a  stool 
beside  a  friendly  stevedore,  first  assuring  himself 
that  the  man  was  not  a  negro,  but  had  merely  been 
handling  coal,  and  he  ate  fifty  cents  worth  of  pie. 
Total,  seventy  cents,  when  the  hotel  luncheon  would 
have  cost  but  fifty!  Then,  without  reckoning  the 
cost,  having  assured  himself  that  such  rigid  economy 
entitled  him  to  spend  a  little  extra  on  his  cigar,  he  had 
bought  one  for  twenty-five  cents  instead  of  the  usual 
fifteen,  or  two  for  a  quarter.  Immensely  pleased 
with  himself,  he  had  gone  to  his  room  for  a  nap 
before  again  chasing  Dame  Fortune,  and,  after  the 
nap,  he  had  decided  the  hour  was  too  late  to 
seek  her  any  further  on  this  day. 

"Send  him  right  up,  Boy,"  the  Colonel  answered 
the  telephone,  and  then  gathered  his  money  together, 
thrust  it  into  his  pocket,  and  waited  for  the  tap  at 
the  door.  And  he  was  unaware  that  Opportunity 
had  come  at  last,  heralded  by  the  round,  fat,  hustling 
man  from  Fort  Scott! 

If  the  Colonel  had  been  his  long-lost  father,  Jones 
could  not  have  greeted  him  with  greater  cordiality. 
For  a  minute  or  so,  the  Colonel  feared  the  visitor 
would  embrace  him.  Then  William  Burmah  turned 
and  tiptoed  to  the  door,  and  jerked  it  open  to  look 
out  into  the  hall.  After  this  action  he  strode  quickly 
to  the  locked  folding  doors  barring  the  next  room, 
and  listened  intently  at  the  crack.  Then  he  half- 
squatted,  and  peered  behind  a  screen,  and  whispered 
hoarsely : 


THE  BOOMERS.  25 

"Anybody  here,  Colonel?" 

The  Colonel,  his  eyes  by  this  time  as  wide  as  silver 
quarters,  assured  him  there  was  not. 

"What's  the  matter,  Sir.?"  the  Colonel  asked  com- 
miseratingly.  "Police  after  you?  Or  some  of  these 
scoundrels  been  trying  to  rob  you?" 

Jones  tiptoed  across  the  room,  removed  his  silk 
hat,  and  wiped  his  forehead  with  an  extra  handker- 
chief drawn  from  his  hip-pocket,  the  silk  polka- 
dotted  one  protruding  from  his  coat  evidently  being 
immune  from  service. 

"Colonel,"  he  said,  raising  his  pudgy  forefinger, 
as  he  settled  into  a  chair,  "Colonel  Hatch,  me  and 
you  are  goin'  to  make  our  fortunes !  Yes,  Siree ! 
Our  everlastin'  fortunes  !  I'm  goin'  to  start  East  next 
week  to  get  hold  of  big  capital ;  but  I'm  goin'  to  let 
you  share  my  luck.  Now !  What  d'you  think  of  that?" 

He  got  his  thumbs  hooked  into  the  arm-holes  of 
his  vest,  pursed  his  cheeks,  and  beamed  at  the 
Colonel  with  what  was  plainly  intended  to  be  a 
benevolent  smile. 

The  Colonel,  trembling  with  joy,  hastened  to 
thank  him. 

"It  is  right  good  of  you.  Sir,  to  remember  me," 
he  said.  "I'd  sort  of  worried  over  it  the  last  few 
days;  but  I  always  said  that  any  gentleman  could 
make  money.  Sir,  if  he  turned  to  commerce." 

Jones  hitched  his  chair  closer,  so  that  he  could 
rest  a  friendly  hand  on  the  Colonel's  knee  as  he 
talked,  such  having  been  his  method  since  he  had  read 
a  book  on  hypnotism. 

"It's  that  land  that  your  discriminatin'  eye  sighted 


26  THE  BOOMERS. 

when  we  were  on  the  steamer,"  declared  Jones.  "Yes, 
Sir,  with  your  financial  genius,  you  picked  it  out! 
You  saw  the  possibilities  of  that  bay,  of  that  head- 
land, of  that  beach.  That's  it,  Squaw  Point!  I've 
practically  taken  it  for  you,  at  five  thousand  dollars. 
A  rare  bargain.  Sir.  I  was  afraid  it  would  escape. 
The  timber  alone  on  it,  in  these  days  of  vast  lumber 
enterprises,  should  be  worth  double  the  money. 
Yes,  Siree !  Only  five  thousand  cart-wheels  !  I  was 
so  afraid  some  one  else  would  come  along  and  get  it 
that  I  just  snapped  it  up,  knowin'  you  would  thank 
me  for  my  service." 

He  leaned  back  expectantly,  but  a  close  friend  of 
his  might  have  read  a  great  suspense  in  h^s  eyes  as 
he  paused  to  see  how  the  Colonel  would  take  the  news 
of  such  unheard-of  philanthropy.  As  for  the 
Colonel,  some  of  the  enthusiasm  appeared  to  die  out 
of  his  face.  If  he  paid  five  thousand  for  the  land, 
he  would  have  but  little  more  than  a  thousand  dol- 
lars with  which  to  plunge  ahead  on  his  reckless  path 
to  wealth.  Jones,  the  veteran  salesman  of  the  globe, 
recognized  the  wavering,  and,  like  a  good  general, 
hastened  to  rally  the  forces. 

"Don't  say  a  word,"  he  whispered,  as  if  afraid  that 
the  Colonel  was  about  to  indulge  in  garrulity.  "Don't 
say  a  word ;  but  listen  to  your  Uncle  Burmah !  But, 
first,  Colonel,  give  me  your  solemn  word  of  honor,  as 
a  gentleman,  that  you  will  never  let  any  one  know, 
come  what  will,  what  I'm  about  to  tell  you!  It 
might  ruin  me." 

Probably  Jones  was  nearer  the  truth  than  he 
knew,  at  that  moment,  for  jails  have  yawned   for 


THE  BOOMERS.  27 

many  a  lesser  offense.  The  Colonel  assured  him  that 
his  secret  would  forever  be  preserved. 

"Then,"  said  Jones,  dropping  his  voice,  and  lay- 
ing both  hands  on  the  Colonel's  knee,  "Squaw  Point 
may  become  the  great  metropolis  of  this  Pacific 
Coast!  It  may  be  the  New  York  of  the  West.  The 
world  may  learn  to  speak  of  Squaw  Point,  London, 
New  York,  Yokohama,  Hamburg,  in  the  same 
breath." 

The  Colonel  began  to  twist  uneasily.  The  grip 
on  his  knees  tightened  as  if  to  keep  him  from  bolting. 

"You  have  heard  of  the  Atlantic  and  Oriental 
Railway,  ain't  you?"  Jones  whispered,  and,  of 
course,  the  Colonel  had  heard  of  the  projected  road 
that  had  dawdled  along  for  years,  threatening  at  in- 
tervals to  go  through  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  al- 
ways stopping  the  moment  the  stock-market  got  to 
the  point  that  best  suited  the  pockets  of  the  great 
railway   king,   Henry   Ford. 

"But — but — I  thought  old  Ford,  when  he  died 
was — " 

"That's  just  the  way,"  interrupted  Jones. 
"When  he  died  his  property  was  so  big  that  it  took 
grears  to  straighten  it  out.  His  boy  wouldn't  foller 
in  his  dad's  footsteps." 

"And  a  mighty  good  thing,  too,  I  should  say," 
responded  the  Colonel,  grimly,  remembering  the  king 
of  promoters,  bribers  and  wreckers. 

**But,  now,  live  men  have  got  the  property,"  Bur- 
mah  Jones  went  on,  patiently.  "They're  goin'  to  put 
her  through!  Pierp — excuse  me,  I  always  speak 
of  one  of  my  best  friends  that  way — Horgan  told 
me  so.     So  did  Corny.     That's  what  I  always  call 


28  THE  BOOMERS. 

Wanderbilt,  Corny.  Just  like  that!  It's  *Hello, 
Corny,'  and  'Hello,  Burmah,'  when  we  meet.  Pierp 
and  Corny  both  told  me  so !  They're  puttin'  up  the 
coin,  if  someone  else  ain't.  Now !  What  more  do 
you  want?" 

"But,"  insisted  the  Colonel,  striving  by  his  atti- 
tude to  convey  the  impression  that  he  did  not  in  the 
least  dispute  Jones'  word,  "what  has  this  to  do  with 
— er — Squaw  Point?" 

"What  has  it  to  do  with  Squaw  Point?  Why, 
Colonel,  I've  as  good  as  told  you.  Squaw  Point's  to 
be  the  Pacific  Coast  terminus  of  that  road." 

William  Burmah  emphasized  each  word  by  chop- 
ping it  off,  rolling  it  under  his  tongue,  and  spitting 
it  out,  after  which,  with  a  great  air  of  triumphant 
assertion,  he  leaned  back  and  grinned.  This  time 
there  was  no  question.  The  Colonel  was  hooked  as 
certainly  as  if  he  had  been  a  bass  snapping  a  min- 
now. 

"And  you  took  that  land  for  me?"  he  gasped. 

"That's  what  I  did!" 

The  Colonel  got  to  his  feet,  as  did  Burmah  Jones, 
and  seized  both  the  agent's  pudgy  hands  in  his.  He 
bubbled  and  overflowed  with  gratitude.  He  threat- 
ened to  make  a  speech.  His,  imagination  kindled 
until  the  room  was  flooded  with  gold.  He  shifted  to 
apprehension  lest  he  find  that  slip  'twixt  the  cup 
and  the  lip,  before  he  could  get  the  deeds  in  his 
hands.  He  urged  haste  for  the  conclusion  of  the 
deal,  and  he  found  William  Burmah  Jones  a  ready 
and  active  ally;  for  Burmah  was  quite  as  eager  as 
the  Colonel  to  close  the  transaction. 

"Yon  stay  right  here,  Colonel — right  here  in  this 


THE  BOOMERS.  29 

room,  till  I  go  and  get  the  lawyer  who  will  clos^ 
this  up.     By  the  way,  it'll  be  cash,  of  course." 

"Certainly,  Sir — certainly!  I  have  it  here  with 
me!" 

Jones  plunged  out ;  but  he  was  torn  between  satis- 
faction and  ruefulness  as  the  elevator  lowered  him  to 
the  ground  floor  of  the  hotel. 

"Got  it  with  him!  Humph!  Why  didn't  I  try 
for  ten  thousand!"  he  muttered  as  he  puffed  up  the 
street  to  the  office  of  a  real-estate  agent,  and  burst 
impatiently  in. 

"I've  decided  to  think  of  that  Squaw  Point  prop- 
erty you  have  for  sale,"  he  said,  entering  the  agent's 
private  office.  "But  two  thousand  is  too  much  for 
it.  I'll  give  you  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty  cash. 
You  say  the  title  is  guaranteed?" 

The  agent  lost  small  time  in  dickering  over  the 
odd  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  began  filling  out  the 
deed  with  himself  as  vendor  through  power  of  at- 
torney. 

"Just  make  the  consideration  one  dollar,"  said 
Burmah,  over  his  shoulder,  "and  the  deed  read  to 
Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch.  No,  that  ain't  me,  but  for  a 
client  of  mine.  Crusty  old  cuss — mighty  peculiar ! 
Won't  deal  with  no  one  but  me.  Awful  funny  man  I 
You  don't  need  to  sign  now,  but  come  with  me 
around  to  The  Butler,  and  bring  a  notary  with  you 
so's  there  won't  be  any  question  abut  your  power  of 
attorney,  and  all  that  rot.  I'll  give  you  the  seven- 
teen fifty  now,  and,  if  there's  any  hitch,  you  can 
give  it  back.  I'm  a  sort  of  secretary  to  this  old  fel~ 
ler." 

With  a  sallow-faced   clerk   from  the   office,  they 


30  THE  BOOMERS. 

went  to  The  Butler,  and  up  to  the  room  where  the 
Colonel  pranced  backward  and  forward  restlessly, 
fearful  that  this  golden  chance  for  fortune  would 
stumble  en  route  to  his  door.  With  tremulous  dig- 
nity he  acknowledged  the  ostentatious  introductions, 
and  dragged  open  the  drawer  in  which  he  had  placed 
his  money ;  but  Burmah  hastily  caught  his  arm,  and 
gave  him  a  warning  glance. 

"I  had  to  pay  'em,"  he  whispered,  "out  of  my 
pocket.  At  the  last  minute  they  were  goin'  to  back 
out.     You  can  pay  me  after  they're  gone." 

The  Colonel  acknowledged  Burmah's  kindness  by 
a  warm  grip  of  the  hand,  and  proceeded  with  the  for- 
malities. 

"There  you  are,  signed  and  sealed  and  delivered," 
said  the  notary,  affixing  his  seal. 

"Then,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Colonel,  beaming, 
and  possessing  himself  of  the  deed  lest  they  recant, 
'*our  bargain  is  concluded.  In  that  fair  portion  of 
the  country,  Sirs,  from  which  I  come,  that  glorious 
State  of  Tennessee,  it  is  customary  to  celebrate  every 
transaction  fittingly.  'Most  always,  I  make  the 
juleps;  but  in  the  absence  of  that  dream  of  delight — 
er — what   will   you   have?" 

"Nothing — never  drink,"  snapped  the  visiting 
real-estate  agent,  thus  confirming  Burmah  Jones'  as- 
sertion that  he  and  the  notary  were  men  "fit  for 
treasons,  stratagems  and  spoils." 

The  Colonel  looked  hurt;  but  Jones  was  already 
politely  urging  the  two  to  depart,  and  assuming  an 
air  of  business  celerity  and  lack  of  time.  They  bade 
the  Colonel  and  his  "secretary"  good-day,  and  hur- 
ried away.    Burmah  Jones  listened  until  the  elevator 


THE  BOOMERS.  81 

gratings  had  clanged,  then  closed  the  door,  and 
smiled  and  stared  up  at  the  Colonel. 

"There  she  is.  Friend  Colonel!"  Jones  asserte«i, 
beaming  from  his  five  feet,  two  up  at  the  Colonel's 
six  feet,  one.  "There  she  is.  A  fortune!  Sure's 
there's  wool  on  a  coon!  Now  you  can  give  me  that 
money,  and  then  I'll  take  a  bottle  of  the  fizzy  lubri- 
cant that  makes  the  fountain  of  youth  look  like  ditch 
water !" 

The  Colonel  dragged  out  his  bills,  and  painstak- 
ingly counted  five  thousand  dollars,  which  sum  Bur- 
mah  Jones  rolled  into  a  wad  and  carelessly  thrust 
into  his  pocket,  his  motion  not  betraying  that,  with 
the  exception  of  two  silver  dollars,  this  was  his  en- 
tire earthly  fortune. 

"Now,"  said  the  man  from  Kansas,  a  half-hour 
later,  obligingly,  "I'll  go  with  you  to  the  county  re- 
corder's office,  and  we'll  have  that  recorded.  Colonel. 
Oh,  no  trouble  at  all!  Glad  to  oblige  a  friend. 
That's  all  I'm  doing  this  for,  just  accommodation." 

The  Colonel  threatened  for  a  moment  to  pay  him 
a  commission;  but  recovered  in  time  when  he  re- 
membered that  his  fortune  had  now  dwindled  so 
heavily. 

"I'm  right  sorry.  Sir,"  he  said  to  Jones,  "that  I 
find  myself  in  such  straitened  circumstances  that 
I  am  compelled  to  seem  delinquent  in  regard  to  your 
profit;  but  I  accept  your  generosity  in  the  spirit  in 
which  it  is  offered,  and  wish  to  assure  you,  Mister 
Jones,  that  when  I  make  money  from  this  venture  of 
ours,  I  shall  requite  you  as  best  lies  in  my  power.  It 
is  customary  with  the  Hatches,  Sir,  never  to  forget 
a  friend  or  a  foeman." 


32  THE  BOOMERS. 

Had  the  Colonel  been  sufficiently  observant,  he 
would  have  discovered  that  William  Burmah  Jones 
lost  a  trifle  of  his  ruddy  color  at  the  concluding  part 
of  the  sentence;  but  the  same  William  Burmah  was 
as  quick  at  recovery  as  a  cat  is  in  finding  its  feet. 

"Don't  mention  it,  Colonel.  Forget  all  about  me," 
he  said,  fervently.  "Now  to  record  this  precious 
document." 

Quite  merrily  they  passed  up  the  street  together 
to  the  little  old  court-house  on  the  hill,  where  they 
found  the  recorder  very  busy.  He  took  time  to  jerk 
the  paper  open  and  glance  at  it,  then  at  the  Colonel. 

"Yes,  Sir,  it's  mine,"  asserted  the  Colonel,  proud- 

ly- 

The  recorder  looked  from  him  to  Jones,  and  stud- 
ied the  latter  the  more.  He  did  not  seem  to  have 
ever  before  seen  Mr.  Jones,  a  surprising  circum- 
stance, considering  that  the  latter  was  supposed  to 
be  in  the  real-estate  business  in  Seattle. 

"Beats  all  what  some  people  are  buying  these 
days,"  he  said,  tentatively. 

Jones  glared  at  him  indignantly;  but  the  Colonel, 
striving  to  appear  nonchalant  in  the  face  of  his  bar- 
gain, said: 

"Yes,  Sir;  there  is  opportunity  at  every  door. 
Timber  lands  in  this  great  new  State  are  all  val- 
uable." 

"Timber  land !  Humph !  That  patch  off  up  there 
at  Squaw  Point  was  cut  off  nearly  ten  years  ago. 
The  timber  on  that  ain't  worth  six  bits!" 

"We  want  that  recorded,"  Jones  hastened  to  in- 
terrupt, with  insistent  firmness,  and  endeavoring  to 
close  the  conversation. 


THE  BOOMERS.  33 

"Well,  you  can  record  it  here  if  you  wish,"  said 
the  recorder,  hourly;  "but  it  ought,  by  rights,  to  be 
recorded,  also,  in  the  county  where  the  sale  is  made." 

Jones  flushed  at  being  exposed  in  ignorance. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  he  said,  airily.  "We  shall 
record  it  there  later.  Come  on.  Colonel.  I  suppose 
we  can  get  this  deed  about  to-morrow  or  the  next 
day?"  he  asked,  addressing  himself  to  the  official. 

"To-morrow  morning,"  said  the  recorder,  "or  in 
two  hours,  if  there  is  any  dadbinged  hurry  about 
it!" 

The  Colonel  hastened  to  mollify  him  by  saying 
that  the  next  day  would  do,  and,  arm-in-arm  with 
Burmah  Jones,  passed  out  into  the  light  of  a  day 
that  seemed  joyous  and  young  and  filled  with  great 
hopes.     The  Colonel  drew  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"Well,"  he  declared,  "that  lifts  a  mighty  big  load 
from  my  mind.  I  had  begun  to  believe  that  it  was  not 
so  easy  to  make  a  fortune;  but  that  just  shows  how 
a  man  can  be  mistaken,  Sir.  Why,  do  you  know, 
when  I  stop  to  think  that  yesterday  I  was  a  com- 
paratively poor  man,  and  that  to-day  I  have  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  new  estate,  it  seems  almost  impos- 
sible! I  must  buy  back  the  Marquard  plantation 
with  the  first  money  I  get." 

He  had  a  warmth  of  friendship  and  affection  for 
the  short  fat  man  who  toddled  alongside  him,  and, 
overcoming  his  customary  scruples,  poured  into 
Burmah's  ears  the  story  of  his  life,  the  pride  of  his 
house,  the  love  for  his  daughter,  and  went  into  details 
of  the  marvelous  venture  on  which  he  had  started 
forth.     Burmah  began  to  have  qualms  of  conscience. 


34  THE  BOOMERS. 

which  proved  the  Colonel's  homely  eloquence ;  for  the 
conscience  of  Burmah  Jones,  through  many  years 
of  dormancy,  had  become  extremely  hard  to  arouse. 
It  had  a  well-developed,  chronic  case  of  the  sleep- 
ing sickness.  Once  or  twice  the  little  man  shoved 
his  silk  hat  back  and  frowned  absently  ahead,  and 
again,  when  the  Colonel  touched  on  that  rare  affec- 
tion, more  fragrant  through  memory,  which  he 
cherished  for  Arabella,  Jones'  hand  crept  up  and 
felt  the  roll  of  bills  that  had  been  transferred  to  the 
inside  of  his  waistcoat,  as  if  by  that  magic  touch 
to  steel  himself  against  sentiment. 

They  dined  together,  sumptuously,  recklessly,  at 
the  Colonel's  expense,  and  throughout  that  time  the 
ancient  adventurer,  rejuvenated,  built  air-castles  of 
grandeur.  Jones  had  to  tear  himself  away  from 
his  host,  and  immediately  outside  the  door  gave  a 
snarling  "Humph!"  the  meaning  of  which  he  alone 
knew.  The  Colonel,  to  the  contrary,  was  so  gay 
that,  when  alone,  he  hummed  in  his  cracked  old  voice 
those  war-like  tunes  of  the  Confederacy  with  which 
he  had  been  wont  in  youth  to  charge  to  victory. 
Alone  in  his  room,  he  jubilated.  .  .  .  Alone  in 
his  room,  Burmah  swore. 

"Damn  that  old  cuss!"  he  roared,  impatiently, 
staring  at  himself  in  the  mirror.  "Why  did  he  go  and 
tell  me  all  that  stuff  about  his  daughter,  and  what  he 
hoped  to  do  for  her?  Always  for  this-here  Ara- 
bella! Arabella!  Nice  old-fashioned  name.  If  I 
didn't  need  the  money  so  bad,  I'll  swear  I'd  put  the 
whole  caboodle  in  an  envelope,  and  send  it  to  him. 
Ain't  it  just  my  luck  to  get  hold  of  a  sucker  like 


THE  BOOMERS.  35 

that !  Maybe  I'd  better  start  East  to-morrow.  It'd 
make  me  feel  rotten  mean  to  see  him  after  he  finds 
out  that  Squaw  Point  ain't  worth  ten  dollars. 
iWonder  if  it  is,  now.?  Wonder  if  there  ain't  some 
way  I  could  get  his  money  back  for  him,  and  keep 
mine  at  the  same  time?" 

He  stood  for  a  full  minute,  staring  at  the  pattern 
of  the  carpet,  as  if  balancing  and  weighing  an  idea, 
communing  with  some  hidden  financial  Genius  with 
whom  he  argued  silently.  He  shook  his  head  im- 
patiently, at  last,  and  turned  his  back  to  the  mirror, 
as  if  rather  reluctant  to  face  his  own  presentment 
on  that  clear,  unfaltering  surface. 

"He's  got  more  money  left,"  he  said  stubbornly, 
as  if  ending  a  debate,  "and,  if  I'm  goin'  to  be  a  hog, 
I'll  be  a  good  one.  I'll  get  that,  too!  Poor  old 
feller!" 

With  which  amicable  admixture  of  crooked  desire 
and  laudable  pity,  William  Burmah  Jones  now 
scowled  savagely  and  rebelliously  at  the  fat  face 
in  the  mirror,  and  hurriedly  switched  off  the  lights 
lest  it  further  accuse  him. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BUT    THE    KNAVE    DEVELOPS    A    CONSCIENCE. 

After  pitching  about  more  or  less  during  the 
night,  made  restless  by  that  newly  and  curiously 
aroused  conscience  of  his,  Burmah  Jones  arose  and 
threw  open  the  shades  of  his  window.  The  early 
workmen  were  steadily  tramping  the  streets  toward 
their  tasks,  just  as  the  last  of  the  roysterers  and 
gamblers  were  unsteadily  turning  homeward.  He 
yawned  at  them,  and  stuck  his  pudgy  hands  in 
the  waistband  of  his  pajamas.  His  scant  hair 
was  ruffled  around  his  Napoleonic  head,  and  his 
eyebrows  were  twisted  into  long  gray  tangles.  He 
stood  and  scowled  at  awakening  Seattle  while  he 
reflected  on  a  very  checkered  career.  He  went 
to  the  faucet  and  drank  copiously  as  if  to  wash  a 
bad  taste  from  his  mouth,  found  a  half-smoked  cigar 
on  the  floor,  and  lighted  it,  rolled  himself  into  the 
depths  of  an  easy  chair,  and  hung  his  bare  feet 
on  the  window  sill. 

Plainly,  he  had  not  been  able  to  dismiss  his  latest 
conquest  from  mind,  for  instantly,  awake,  he  was 
fighting  its  ethics  over  again. 

"Burmah,"  he  said  to  himself,  "it's  been  your 
business  to  trim  suckers,  and  take  chances  on  being 
trimmed.  Some  of  'em  have  done  the  last.  Some- 
times you  waded  in  where  the  water  was  deep  and 
cold ;  but  now  you've  gone  and  done  it  for  sure. 
You've  buncoed  a  poor,  confidin'  old  cuss  of  sixty- 
five,  that  ain't  never  had  a  chance  to  cut  his  wisdom 

36 


THE  BOOMERS.  37 

teeth.  It's  too  plagued  much  like  stealin'  ear-trum- 
pets from  a  home  for  old  deaf  ladies." 

He  lapsed  into  a  melancholy  heap  of  fat,  and 
twisted,  rolled  and  chewed  the  cigar  butt  from  one 
corner  of  his  mouth  to  the  other..  There  werfe 
those,  familiar  with  him  in  past  days  of  fight,  pros- 
perity, and  enterprise,  who  would  have  taken  alarm 
at  that  symptom  of  mental  activity,  and  hastened 
away  to  lock  safes,  and  secrete  family  silver,  pocket- 
books,  or  anything  else  that  wasn't  securely  fastened 
beyond  hope  of  being  pried  loose. 

That  look  was  on  his  face  throughout  the  fore- 
noon, and  still  there  when,  in  the  late  afternoon,  he 
went,  hesitantly,  to  the  Colonel's  hotel.  It  had 
taken  much  resolution  on  his  part  to  face  the  Colonel. 
He  felt  like  a  murderer  visiting  the  morgue  to  look 
at  his  victim.  He  glanced  through  the  big  plate- 
glass  window  in  front  of  the  hotel  lobby,  and  saw 
the  dupe,  with  a  beatific  expression  on  his  face, 
asleep  in  one  of  the  big  leather  chairs. 

"There  he  is,"  said  Burmah  to  himself.  "Now, 
ain't  he  a  picture  of  a  hustling  young  man  startin' 
out  to  make  his  fortune?  He's  a  rare  old  specimen 
of  a  gent  startin'  out  to  make  dead-oodles  of  money 
in  commercial  pursuits  !     Humph !" 

If  the  real-estate  agent  lacked  anything,  it  was 
not  "hustle,"  and  full  appreciation  of  a  "hustler." 
He  had  never  been  accused  of  incompetence,  and  it 
exasperated  him  to  come  in  contact  with  a  man  of 
the  Colonel's  stamp. 

"I  come  up  here  to  sympathize  with  him,"  he 
went  on  in  self-communion,  "and  what  do  I  see?  That 
old  Rebel  crowbait  a-sittin'  there  asleep !    Serves  him 


38  THE  BOOMERS. 

right.  Now,  I'm  goin'  in  to  get  the  rest  of  his 
roll,  hang  him !" 

He  trudged  determinedly  into  the  hotel  lobby,  and 
laid  a  heavy  hand  on  the  Colonel's  shoulder. 

"Yes,  dear,"  the  Colonel's  sleepy  voice  muttered, 
and  he  sat  up,  and  blinked  his  eyes  in  bewilderment 
as  he  realized  that  he  was  not  home  in  his  library, 
being  aroused  by  Arabella.  His  fine  old  face  flushed, 
and  he  hastened  to  get  to  his  feet,  and  take  the 
pudgy,  reluctant  hand  of  William  Burmah  Jones. 
The  roar  of  street-cars  abruptly  assailing  the 
Colonel's  ears,  the  clatter  of  hotel  conversation,  told 
him  that,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  Chattanooga 
was  millions  of  miles  away. 

"I  thought — I  thought — I  was  home  again,"  he 
apologized,  lamely,  and  Burmah's  anger  was  sup- 
planted by  something  as  near  to  pity  as  he  ever 
approached.  "And — and  I've  been  waiting  for  you, 
my  friend,  because,  somehow,  I  seem  sort  of  help- 
less in  my  plans.  I  forgot,  Sir,  to  ask  you  yester- 
day how  you  would  advise  me  to  go  about  getting  the 
money  from  that  Squaw  Point.  It  is  inexperience, 
Sir,  that  makes  me  so  slow  and  deliberate.  I'm  a 
tiger  for  work.  A  regular  demon  for  accomplish- 
ing. Show  a  Hatch  the  way,  and  he'll  rip  the  stars 
down  to  plant  them  in  his  flower-beds.  As  General 
Robert  E.  Lee  once  said  to  me,  Sir:  *There  are  none 
of  your  family  that  are  not '  " 

"Did  you  get  that  deed  from  the  local  recorder's 
office,  and  send  it  up  to  the  other  county  seat?" 
asked  Burmah,  frowning  at  him. 

"I  forgot  all  about  that  important  necessity,"  the 
Colonel  confessed. 


THE  BOOMERS.  39 

"Well,  I  guess  you  ought  to  do  that,"  Burmah 
said,  grimly.  "S'pose  that  real-estate  man  was 
crooked,  like  some  of  'em  are,  and  sold  Squaw  Point 
to  some  other  feller,  and  the  other  feller  beat  you 
to  the  recorder's  office?  Huh?  What  d'you  think 
would  happen  to  you  then?" 

"Why,  bless  my  soul!"  said  the  Colonel,  em- 
phatically. "I  never  thought  of  that ! — no,  Sir,  not 
once." 

He  was  in  a  momentary  panic  at  the  suggested 
danger. 

"Boy,  get  me  a  cab — quick!"  he  shouted  at  a 
passing  bell-boy,  so  loudly  that  every  man  in  the 
rotunda  turned  and  looked  at  him,  wondering 
whether  he  had  missed  a  train,  or  a  murder.  He 
fairly  danced  up  and  down  in  impatience  as  he 
admonished  the  boy  to  haste.  If  he  had  been  order- 
ing an  aeroplane  in  order  to  escape  from  an  earth- 
quake, he  could  have  been  no  more  earnest  or  ex- 
cited. His  coat-tails  flapped  vigorously,  he  gestic- 
ulated with  his  long  arms  until  his  celluloid  cuffs 
rattled  like  castanets,  and  his  big  slouch  hat  worked 
forward  over  his  brow  until  it  threatened  to  blind- 
fold him.  Burmah,  impertubable,  with  a  freshly 
lighted  cigar  projecting  from  the  wrinkle  in  the 
corner  of  his  straight-cut  mouth,  watched  him,  not 
without  a  suspicion  of  a  smile  in  his  eyes. 

"Calm  yourself.  Colonel,"  he  admonished — and 
he  pronounced  it  as  "cam."  "Just  calm  yourself. 
You  ain't  goin'  to  save  time  by  takin'  the  roof  off 
this  hospitable  inn." 

He  led  the  excited  financier  out  to  the  curb,  saw 
him   into  the   cab,   and  instructed  him  to   ask  the 


40  THE  BOOMERS. 

county  recorder  where  the  deed  should  be  sent  for 
its  second  record.  Then  he  waved  his  hand  airily, 
and  said: 

"See  you  to-morrow.  Busy  to-night.  Don't 
worry.  Don't  let  the  recorder  pick  your  pockets, 
and  be  sure  not  to  blow  the  gas  out  when  you  go 
to  bed.     So  long,  old  hoss !" 

The  Colonel  was  too  excited  to  be  indignant 
over  this  familiarity.  He  did  not  appreciate  the 
struggle  of  emotions  that  still  possessed  the  soul 
of  his  new-found  friend,  Burmah  Jones.  And  Bur- 
mah,  waddling  down  the  street,  was  expostulating 
with  himself,  and  forever  coming  back  to  the  same 
point : 

"I'm  an  old  crook,  and  I  need  money;  but  I  just 
can't  take  it  away  from  that  old  cuss !  He'll  be  the 
ruination  of  me  yet!    I  feel  it  in  my  bones!" 

It  may  have  been  the  "feeling  in  his  bones"  that 
led  him  to  return  to  the  hotel,  and  to  walk  back- 
ward and  forward  in  his  room  for  a  long  time;  that 
sent  him  down  to  the  wharves,  where  he  studied  the 
shipping  with  the  eye  of  an  amateur ;  and  that,  later 
in  the  evening,  caused  him  to  sit  in  the  well-padded 
alcove  of  a  St.  James  Street  resort,  looking  as 
morose  as  a  fat  man  can  look.  He  sat  where  he 
could  let  his  sharp,  intelligent  eyes  wander  vacantly 
over  the  crowd  that  came  in,  imbibed,  and  passed 
out,  or  paused  to  loiter  in  front  of  the  garish  bar, 
and  stare  at  the  ornate  cut  glass.  One  man  interested 
him  more  than  any  of  the  others.  This  was  a 
melancholy-appearing  young  gentleman  of  an  in- 
definite age,  whose  hair,  worn  very  straight  and  very 
long,  was  prematurely  streaked  with  gray,  a  man 


THE  BOOMERS.  41 

who  had  the  eyes  of  a  dissipated  poet,  and  the 
finest  of  features,  and  wore,  despite  the  warmth  of 
the  evening,  a  mantle  that  might  have  done  service 
in  the  Quartier  Latin  in  Paris,  as  a  cape  for  a 
Roumanian  guardsman,  or  a  dress-coat  for  a 
Miinchen  professor  of  letters.  This  man  was  the 
picture  of  complete  dejection,  as  he  stood  at  the 
end  of  the  bar,  nodding  to  acquaintances,  accepting 
every  proffered  drink,  and  purchasing  nothing.  Be- 
tween whiles,  with  long,  white,  slender  fingers,  he 
drew  geometrical  designs  on  the  bar  from  the  over- 
flow of  numerous  glasses  of  beer.  To  this  forlorn 
individual,  entered  another  man,  sturdy,  sun-tanned, 
wearing  the  regulation  white,  dented  Western  hat, 
and  carrying  a  suit-case.  At  sight  of  each  other, 
they  rushed  to  a  hand-clasp  and  much  greeting. 
They  sat  in  the  little  stall  immediately  behind  Bur- 
mah,  and  he  could  hear  their  conversation. 

"Well,  Fred,  you  are  still  here,  eh?  I  heard 
you  were  in  Seattle,"  said  the  sturdy  man.  It  was 
easy  to  identify  him  by  the  vigor  of  his  voice. 

"Yes.  But  where  did  you  come  from,  and  where 
do  you  go?" 

"From  Juneau,  and  going  to  South  Dakota." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  as  if  each  were 
looking  at  the  other,  or  thinking,  and  then  the 
sturdy  voice  burst  out,  impetuously : 

*'Fred,  I  want  you  to  come  with  me.  I  can  give 
you  work.  You're  too  good  an  engineer,  too  good 
an  all-round  man,  to  throw  yourself  away  on  fool 
ideas.  That  year  in  Paris  ruined  you.  You're  out 
for  this  art-for-art-sake's  stuff.  It  won't  do!  It's 
rot!     You    want    to    build    the    'City    Beautiful.' 


42  THE  BOOMERS. 

Pshaw !  Leave  that  for  the  ladies  who  write  for  the 
ladies'  journals.  You  want  to  do  the  up-lift  stunt 
in  architecture.  That's  all  bunk!  You  tried  to 
lecture  on  it,  and  went  bust.  You  came  out  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  try  your  hand  at  it,  and  what's  the 
West  done  for  you?  Listened  to  you,  laughed  at 
you,  and  made  a  plain  drunkard  out  of  you !  Isn't 
that  so?  We  went  over  the  Boston  Tech.  hurdles 
together,  and  I  know  you.  Cut  it  out.  Now, 
listen!" 

There  was  some  mumbled  response  that  sounded 
to  Burmah  like  a  protest;  but  the  stronger  man's 
voice   drowned   opposition. 

"I've  got  a  job.  Don't  know  how  long  it  will 
last.  It's  doing  surveys  for  the  A.  and  C.  Railway. 
It  may  be  a  bluff,  and  it  may  be  steady  work.  I 
want  you  to  come  with  me,  cut  out  the  booze;  and 
I'll  give  you  a  boost  with  the  chief.  Will  you  come? 
I  leave  in  half  an  hour." 

"No,  I  won't  come." 

The  reply  was  petulant  in  its  positiveness,  and  the 
conversation  drifted  into  personal  channels  that  no 
longer  interested  William  Burmah  Jones,  who  had 
suddenly  shoved  his  hat  to  the  back  of  his  head, 
leaned  his  elbows  and  arms  on  the  marble-topped 
table  in  front  of  him,  and  begun  drumming  upon  it 
with  his  fat  fingers,  which  somehow  betrayed  a  cer- 
tain decisiveness  of  character,  as  if  fatness  did  not 
extend  to  the  soul  of  their  owner.  What  he  had 
heard  was  galloping  through  his  head,  and,  shrewd- 
ly, he  was  drawing  conclusions,  and  formulating 
plans;  nor  would  he  have  acknowledged  to  himself 
that  there  was  anything  of  philanthropy,  of  kind- 


THE  BOOMERS.  43 

ness,  or  of  sentiment  in  the  scheme  that  was  un- 
folding itself,  leaf  bj  leaf,  as  an  open  book,  thrown 
carelessly  on  a  table,  adjusts  itself.  He  reached  a 
finger  over  to  the  push-button  in  the  upholstered 
wall  beside  him,  and  pressed  it.  Then,  the  finger 
slipped  back  into  his  vest-pocket,  fumbled  therein, 
produced  a  five-dollar  bill,  and  wadded  it  before  the 
waiter  appeared.  Jones'  face  masked  itself  into  that 
of  a  merely  jolly,  careless,  prosperous  fat  man. 

"Bring  me  a  plain  seltzer  water,"  he  said;  and 
then,  as  the  waiter  started  to  hurry  away:  "But 
hold  on  a  minute."  He  leaned  closer,  smiled,  and 
whispered:  "What's  the  name  of  that  long-haired 
architect — engineer  chap,  that  I  see  around  .f*  I 
think  he's  in  the  next  stall  behind  me  here." 

The  waiter  craned  his  neck  back,  and  looked 
around  into  the  other  compartment. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  whispered  hoarsely,  and  then 
eyed  the  bill  that  Burmah  had  suddenly  opened  and 
was  smoothing  out  on  the  table-top.  He  looked 
suggestively  at  the  speculator,  and  was  not  disap- 
pointed. 

"Too  bad !"  declared  Burmah,  in  an  almost  tearful 
whisper.  "Too  bad!  I  was  going  to  give  you  this 
if  you  knew." 

"You  were,  eh?  Well,  say,  Boss,  for  that  I'd 
choke  him  till  his  tongue  stuck  out,  and  he  told  me 
in  his  delirium,"  asserted  the  waiter.  "Leave  it  to 
me!" 

He  hastened  away  to  get  the  seltzer.  He  whis- 
pered to  the  nearest  bar-tender,  who  sauntered  care- 
lessly down  to  the  end  of  the  bar,  and  stared.  The 
bar-tender  whispered  to  the  next  bar-tender,  and  he 


44  THE  BOOMERS. 

in  turn  stared,  and  then  bent  far  across  the  polished 
wood  to  whisper  to  another  lounger,  who  carelessly 
traversed  the  length  of  the  room,  halted  in  front  of 
the  compartment,  said,  "Hello  Fred,"  and  went 
back  to  convey  the  information. 

"His  name's  Fred  Hubbard,"  whispered  the 
waiter  into  Burmah's  ear.  "He's  a  queer  guy.  Got  a 
crack  in  his  punkin.'  Wants  to  make  towns  look 
right.  Tried  it  on  Seattle,  but  they  didn't  fall  for 
his  graft." 

"Good !  You  win !"  said  Burmah,  shoving  the  bill 
toward  him.  "Pay  for  this  decoction  of  slough 
water,   and  keep  the   change." 

Even  as  the  waiter  hurried  away,  Jones  was  pull- 
ing his  stubby  legs  into  shape,  and  scrambling  out 
from  behind  the  table.  He  was  not  in  the  least 
affected  by  modesty.  Indeed,  audacity  seemed  to  be 
his  forte.  He  calmly  ignored  the  seltzer  he  had 
ordered,  got  up,  and  with  a  pretense  of  looking  at 
a  ticker  at  the  end  of  the  room,  walked  past  the 
place  where  the  engineers  were  talking.  He  started 
as  if  surprised,  halted  at  the  end  of  the  table,  rested 
his  knuckles  on  it,  and  said: 

"Excuse  me.  You  are  Mister  Frederick  Hubbard, 
ain't  you?  My  name's  William  Burmah  Jones.  I 
heard  you  lecture  once  on  this  scheme  of  makin' 
towns  look  good.  I've  tried  to  paint  some  of  'em 
myself;  but  they  never  stood  for  it.  But  I  liked 
your  idea.  I've  always  wanted  to  have  a  talk  with 
you,  my  boy.  Might  be  you  and  me  could  do  some 
business." 

Burmah  stared  steadily  at  Hubbard,  who,  gratified 
by  even  so  sinall  a  recognition,  stood  up  to  shake 


THE  BOOMERS.  45 

hands.  He  would  have  introduced  Burmah  to  the 
engineer;  but  the  latter,  discovering  a  necessity  for 
haste,  brusquely  passed  it  over,  and,  after  once 
more  urging  his  friend  to  drop  the  idea  of  cities 
beautiful,  gave  an  address,  which  Hubbard  wrote 
down,  and  Jones  memorized,  then  made  his  de- 
parture. Jones  took  the  vacant  seat,  and  ordered 
some  more  seltzer  water  for  himself,  and  something 
stronger  for  Hubbard,  and  tactfully  led  the  poet- 
artist-engineer  on  to  discourse  of  his  ideals.  An 
attentive  listener  was  Burmah  Jones;  but  his  eyes 
were  either  appraising,  or  meditative,  as  he  sat  there 
beside  the  table,  chewing,  everlastingly  chewing,  or 
rolling  his  cigar.  Sometimes  he  studied  the  face 
across  from  him,  a  face  fired  with  enthusiasm  as  its 
owner  talked.  Here  and  there  fell  a  word  of  flat- 
tery, so  subtle  as  to  be  almost  a  caress,  and  then, 
suddenly,  the  masterful  man  leaped  out  from  be- 
hind the  fat,  as  his  appraisement  was  complete. 

"The  trouble  with  you,  Hubbard,  is  that  you're 
a  boozer !     You  drink  too  much." 

Purposely  he  had  fired  this  shot  of  antagonism, 
and  he  watched  the  other  man  straighten  himself  to 
a  semblance  of  dignity;  but  Jones  gave  him  no  time 
to  protest. 

"Don't  try  to  tell  me  you  ain't !"  he  snapped.  "I 
know.  I  can  read  the  signs  as  if  they  were  cross- 
ing boards  for  a  railway,  which  said,  'Look  out  for 
the  engine.'  I've  got  a  job  of  surveyin' — nothin' 
else  for  you,  maybe!  Understand  that?  Maybe! 
If  you  make  good,  and  things  go  right,  you  might 
get  a  chance  to  show  us  some  of  this  *City  Beautiful' 


46  THE  BOOMERS. 

rot.  But  you'll  have  to  do  the  work  for  small  pay, 
and  cut  this  stuff  out !" 

He  seized  the  unemptied  glass  in  front  of  Hubbard 
as  he  spoke,  turned,  and  dumped  its  contents  on  the 
floor  beside  him. 

"You're  hired!"  he  declared.  "No  more  of  this 
till  you're  through  with  me.  I'm  the  boss.  You 
come  to  the  hotel  Wickard  to-morrow  morning  at 
eight  o'clock — not  a  minute  later — and  ask  for 
William  Burmah  Jones.  Got  a  transit  or  a  theo- 
dolite? If  you  haven't,  rent  one.  Now,  go  home 
and  sober  up." 

With  which  brutal  order,  he  got  up  and  walked 
out  before  the  astonished  Frederick  Hubbard  could 
recover. 

In  just  ten  minutes,  Burmah  was  battering  on  the 
door  of  Colonel  Alonzo  Hatch's  room,  where  the 
Colonel,  well  dined,  was  comfortably  reclining  in 
an  easy  chair.  Burmah  did  not  wait  for  a  summons 
to  enter,  but  burst  in  as  if  he  had  been  fired  from  a 
torpedo  tube.  He  was  a  man  of  merriment  now, 
a  boy  breaking  into  a  comrade's  apartment. 

"Colonel,"  he  shouted,  "I've  something  for  you! 
Good  news.  You're  to  start  a  town.  You're  to 
hustle.  You're  to  make  a  wad  of  money.  Me  and 
you'll  smash  'em  hard." 

"I  always  insisted,"  began  the  Colonel,  in  a  jubi- 
lant, self-satisfied  voice,  "that  any  gentleman,  did 
he " 

"And  you're  right !"  Interrupted  Burmah.  "Well, 
take  it  for  as  good  as  done.  "Now,  see  here, 
Colonel,  I've  taken  a  real,  sure-enough  interest  iri 


"I've  hired  a  man  who  will  make  Squaw  Point  the  most  beau- 
tiful city  in  the  world." 


THE  BOOMERS.  47 

you.  I've  done  you  a  favor  without  askin'  you 
anything  about  it." 

The  Colonel  did  not  hesitate  to  thank  his  bene- 
factor, not  only  in  his  own  behalf,  but  in  the  name 
of  Arabella. 

"Colonel,"  said  Burmah,  buttonholing  the  head 
of  the  Hatch  family,  and  lowering  his  voice  to  a 
most  impressive  tone,  "I've  hired  a  man  for  you 
who  will  make  Squaw  Point  the  most  beautiful  city 
in  Washington,  in  the  West,  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  the  world." 

His  voice  rose  to  a  triumphant  note,  and  the 
Colonel's  eyes  opened,  and  his  hands  trembled.  Per- 
haps it  was  with  a  perfervid  desire  to  escape  the 
hands  of  Burmah  Jones,  which  had  seized  him  by 
the  coat-lapel  and  strenuously  jerked  as  each  com- 
parison was  voiced. 

"I've  hired  that  genius  of  landscape-gardening, 
Frederick  Hubbard, to  lay  out  a  modern  and  glorious 
city  on  your  land,"  Burmah  said,  impressively,  and 
stood  back  and  stuck  his  thumbs  into  their  habitual 
resting  place  to  gloat  over  his  achievement. 

The  Colonel  had  never  heard  of  Frederick  Hub- 
bard, but  mentally  decided  he  must  be  "some  shakes." 
The  very  attitude  of  his  intimate  friend  and  coun- 
sellor, William  Burmah  Jones,  indicated  as  much. 
Far  be  it  from  him,  the  head  of  the  Hatch  family, 
to  be  laggard  in  recompense.  No  one  could  be  more 
magnanimous  than  a  Hatch. 

"Then,"  said  the  Colonel,  oracularly,  and  assum- 
ing the  pose  that  had  been  his  favorite  when  ad- 
dressing his  fellow  citizens  in  Chattanooga  on  festal 


48  THE  BOOMERS. 

occasions,  "I  shall  deem  it  an  honor,  Sir,  if  you  will 
permit  me  the  gratification  of  insisting  that  for  your 
enterprise  you  shall  share  in  the  pecuniary  rewards. 
Frederick  Hubbard,  Sir,  is  a  man  to  be  esteemed. 
He  is  all  that  makes  for  good  Americanism.  He  is 
one  of  our  most  worthy  citizens.  Yes,  Sir !  One  of 
the  great  men  of  the  day."  He  paused,  and  seemed 
to  be  thinking  for  an  instant.  "By  the  way,  who 
in  the  deuce  is  this  man,  Hubbard?"  he  asked.  "I 
can't  just  remember  what  he  has  done." 

"Done?  Done?  Why,  Colonel,  he  is  the  author 
of  the  'City  Beautiful.'  The  renowned  lecturer !  He's 
a  cheese!  He's  a  riprinosticum  snooter,  he  is. 
Now,  about  the  rewards,  what  I  might  suggest  is 
this,  Colonel;  not  that  I  want  money  so  much,  but 
that  it's  only  fair,  and  business  is  business.  We'll 
get  this  man  to  lay  out  a  'City  Beautiful'  up  there. 
You  will  give  me  some  of  the  lots  on  the  main  street, 
just  a  few.  You  get  the  profits  from  the  rest. 
We'll  sell  'em  off,  so  as  to  start  a  town.  Not  that 
I  would  part  with  any  of  this  valuable  property, 
but  we  must  be  liberal.  Colonel  Hatch.  We  must 
let  others  share  our  prosperity.  There  is  another 
reason  for  disposin'  of  some  of  it,  and  that  is  so's 
you  won't  be  lonesome  up  there,  all  alone.  Of 
course.  Colonel,  I  don't  speak  so  much  of  you  as 
I  do  of  your  dear  daughter,  Miss  Arabella.  She 
shall  look  at  it  and  feel  at  home,  knowin'  that  it 
has  been  started  by  her  father.  Are  you  on.  Colonel? 
Do  you  get  me?  I  get  some  of  the  lots.  I  handle 
it  for  your  benefit.  The  lots  will  perhaps  pay  my 
expenses,  but  that  don't  matter-.     Colonel,  you  are 


THE  BOOMERS.  49 

launched  on  the  road  to  fortune.  To-morrow,  at 
ten-thirty,  the  boat  sails,  and  we  will  meet  on  the 
wharf!" 

The  Colonel  had  no  time  to  think.  He  was  swept 
off  his  feet  by  this  whirlwind.  He  glowed  in  his 
endeavor  to  thank  Burmah  Jones  for  his  kindness, 
and  began  to  think  of  a  speech;  but,  before  it  could 
vent  itself,  Burmah  had  slapped  him  on  the  back 
and  rushed  for  the  elevator.  His  last  injunction, 
not  to  miss  the  boat,  was  wafted  up  from  [the 
elevator  shaft  like  something  left  behind. 

"Fortune!  Fortune!  Kindly  maid,  I  thank  thee!" 
said  the  Colonel,  poetically,  after  he  had  returned 
to  his  room. 

"If  things  will  only  go  my  way,"  ruminated  Mr. 
Jones,  ploughing  along  the  street,  "a  spring  lamb 
in  April  won't  be  half  as  cold  as  some  of  these 
Seattle  boys  when  I  get  through  shearin'  'em  on  this 
deal.  I'll  put  overcoats  at  a  premium  to  shed  off 
chills  whenever  they  hear  the  name  of  William  Bur- 
mah Jones!" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AND    CONSCIENCE    INVOLVES    HIM. 

The  Colonel  was  like  one  in  his  second  youth 
when,  on  the  following  morning,  the  party  sailed 
outward  on  the  sound  steamer.  He  hummed  snatches 
of  song;  he  expatiated  in  rounded,  grandiloquent 
periods  on  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  the  day  and 
the  excellence  of  the  boat.  He  was  flooded  by  the  sun- 
light of  accomplishment.  Hubbard,  somewhat  shaky, 
decidedly  threadbare,  and  chafing  at  the  restraint  of 
that  inexorable  monster,  Burmah  Jones,  watched 
him  with  astonishment.  Burmah,  cynical,  thought- 
ful and  keen,  saw  to  two  things:  that  Hubbard 
kept  dry,  and  that  the  Colonel  kept  enthused.  Ap- 
parently these  were  his  only  tasks;  but,  iii  truth, 
he  was  spinning  mental  webs  to  be  thrown  out  on 
the  winds,  at  a  later  time,  in  which  fools  might  en- 
mesh themselves.  He  was  calculating  what  could 
be  done  with  the  tools  at  hand  and  such  money  as 
he  cared  to  expend  on  his  scheme.  He  was  no  longer 
trammeled  by  introspection.  All  the  yesterdays  were 
gone — only  the  to-morrows  were  filled  with  fear. 

"The  old  Colonel's  a  good  advertisement  in  him- 
self," he  thought,  "and  I'll  make  this  chump  en- 
gineer, or  gardener,  or  whatever  he  thinks  he  is, 
more  famous  than  he's  ever  been  in  his  life.  If 
I  can  skin  enough  out  of  it  on  the  first  leap  then 
it's  me  to  get  away  before  the  sun  shines  on  this 
soap-bubble,  and  bursts  her  wide  open." 

But  all  these  meticulous  projects  did  not  in  the 

60 


THE  BOOMERS.  51 

least  show  themselves  on  his  face.  Outwardly,  he 
was  merely  good-humored.  There  was  nothing  to 
indicate  either  his  extraordinary  energy,  his  un- 
ending persistence,  or  his  pugnacious  temperament. 

The  steamer  swung  her  nose  cautiously  into  the 
bay,  where  the  two  fishermen  stared  upward  in  posi- 
tive amazement,  so  long  had  it  been  since  any  one 
paused  at  Squaw  Point.  The  captain  on  the  end 
of  the  bridge  cupped  his  hands,  and  vented  a  shout 
that  simulated  the  siren  of  his  craft  more  than 
anything  human. 

"Hey!  You  men!  Can't  you  come  over  here, 
and  land  three  passengers  for  me?" 

"Tell  'em  there's  a  dollar  in  it  for  them,"  Bur- 
mah  called  up,  whereupon  the  captain  made  the 
proffer,  and  whatever  spell  of  lethargy  held  the 
fishermen  was  dissipated  as  they  fell  to  their  oars. 
They  came  alongside;  the  three  visitors  to  Squaw 
Point  clambered  out  over  the  strake  and  into  the 
bow  of  the  boat;  Burmah  Jones  called,  "Be  sure  to 
pick  us  up  on  the  return  trip  to-night,"  and  the 
steamer's  bells  clanged,  and  she  moved  away. 

Washington  crossing  the  Delaware  was  not  half 
so  excited  as  Colonel  Hatch  crossing  to  Squaw  Point. 
He  stood  up  in  the  boat,  with  his  feet  surrounded  by 
fish,  the  wind  moving  his  white  locks,  and  rapture 
on  his  kindly  old  face. 

"Gentlemen,  there  she  is!"  he  exclaimed,  exuber- 
antly. "The  fairest  spot  in  all  the  North-west.  The 
garden  of  the  sovereign  State  of  Washington.  The 
rose  on  the  palpitating  breast  of  the  queen  of  moun- 
tains." 

One  of  the  rowers,  afflicted  with  a  sense  of  humor, 


52  THE  BOOMERS. 

missed  a  stroke,  the  boat  lurched,  and  the  Colonel 
sat  suddenly  down,  on  and  amidst  the  fish.  They 
flapped  vigorously  with  what  life  was  left  in  them, 
and  the  Colonel,  disgusted  not  so  much  at  the  acci- 
dent as  by  the  abrupt  termination  of  what  had 
promised  to  be  a  highly  poetic  speech,  recovered 
himself,  and  sat  meekly  on  a  board  across  the 
thwarts. 

"Pshaw!"  he  said,  proceeding  to  wipe  his  coat- 
tails  with  his  handkerchief.  "Wasn't  that  right 
aggravating !" 

And  then,  his  transports  of  oratory  abated,  and 
suddenly  appreciating  the  ridiculousness  of  his 
finale,  he,  too,  laughed.  Through  it  all,  Hubbard 
sat  staring  ahead  at  the  splendid  bay,  the  noble 
hills  and  the  towering  background,  seeing  dream 
castles  springing  upward  for  his  first  "City  Beau- 
tiful," visualizing  with  clarity  the  pictures  in  his 
mind.  The  rowers  gawped  at  the  transit  that  lay 
across  his  knees,  and  mumbled  to  each  other. 

"Maybe  they're  timber-cruisers,  eh.  Flay?"  one 
asked;  and  the  other  said,  "They  mout  be." 

The  boat  landed  on  the  beach,  and  Burmah's  keen 
eyes  picked  out  the  young  man  they  had  seen  in  the 
canoe  on  the  preceding  trip.  The  man  stood  in 
front  of  his  tent,  comfortably  smoking  a  well- 
seasoned  pipe,  but  evinced  no  curiosity. 

"Who  is  that  fellow?"  demanded  Burmah  of  one 
of  the  fishermen. 

"Him?  Name's  Lester.  Yank  from  down  Bost- 
ing  way.  Out  for  a  rest  and  his  health,  he  says. 
Fishes  and  hunts  all  the  time,  when  he  ain't  just 
plain  loafing." 


THE  BOOMERS.  53 

Burmah  continued  to  stare  for  a  moment,  then 
turned  to  the  engineer. 

"Want  these  fellers  to  help?" 

''Yes,  we  shall  need  a  flagman  or  two." 

"Pull  the  boat  up  on  the  beach,"  Burmah  ordered 
the  two  fishermen,  who  stood,  pictures  of  dilapidation 
and  shiftlessness,  waiting  for  their  dollar  or  instruc- 
tions. "We  want  you  two  fellers  to  help  make  a  sur- 
vey. You'll  get  paid  better  than  fishin'.  Get  a  move 
on  you." 

He  turned  and  looked  at  the  Colonel,  who,  with 
arms  folded,  and  head  thrown  back,  was  giving  him- 
self over  to  a  vast  admiration  of  his  property. 

"Colonel,"  Burmah  said,  "if  we're  goin'  to  get 
through  in  time  to  take  the  steamer  back,  we've  all 
got  to  help.  I  suppose  we'd  best  go  right  up  to  the 
top  first,  eh.?" 

"I  was  just  about  to  suggest  that,"  the  Colonel 
agreed. 

"Now,  Hubbard,  show  us  what  you  can  do,"  Bur- 
mah said  to  the  engineer  briskly.  "Everybody's  at 
your  service,  ain't  they.  Colonel.?" 

"You  fairly  took  the  words  out  of  my  mouth," 
said  the  Colonel,  still  convinced  that  he  was  adroitly 
and  personally  managing  the  whole  enterprise. 

Burmah  pulled  a  roll  of  paper  from  his  pocket, 
unfolded  some  strips  of  cloth,  and  said: 

"Here,  you  two  men !  Go  and  cut  some  long  poles. 
That's  right,  ain't  it.  Colonel.?  Flags  for  survey, 
eh?" 

"Yes,  Sir.  Please,  go  and  cut  the  poles,  gentle- 
men.   And,  by  the  way,  what  might  your  names  be?" 

"Skaggs  is  mine,  but  my  partner  calls  me  Hank," 


54  THE  BOOMERS. 

said  the  first  one.     "His  name's  Flavius  Josephus 
Banks — Flaj  for  short." 

The  Colonel  shook  hands  with  due  decorum,  and 
insisted  on  introducing  his  companions,  despite  the 
fact  that  Burmah  was  dancing  around  restlessly,  as 
if  eager  to  have  this  "City  Beautiful"  started,  and  fin- 
ished. Hank  and  Flavius  Josephus  led  the  way  up 
a  path  that  rambled  in  and  out  in  a  steep  ascent 
through  the  glories  of  the  undergrowth,  where  wild 
flowers  cropped  up  between  the  rocks,  vines  in  blos- 
som sprang  pell-mell  over  miniature  precipices,  and 
young  trees  started  from  stumps  of  ancient  cuttings. 
Here  and  there,  where  trees  had  been  too  gnarled, 
or  too  small,  to  be  available  for  lumbering,  whole 
groups  of  them  stood  as  if  watching  the  advent  of 
the  adventurers.  Hubbard,  thinking  of  his  great 
artistic  venture,  but  not  quite  confident  as  to  what 
Burmah  Jones  intended  to  do,  forgot  his  thirst,  and 
his  eyes  glowed  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  zealot. 
Here  it  was,  at  hand,  the  place  to  build  the  most 
exquisite  little  city  in  the  West.  At  the  top,  he  saw, 
spread  before  him,  a  plateau,  almost  level,  narrow- 
ing at  the  distant  end  to  the  precipitous  cliff  against 
which  the  languid  waves  of  the  sound  throbbed  and 
sang.  Behind  him  came  the  steep  ascent,  in  terraces, 
up  which  he  had  climbed,  and  far  back,  step  by  step, 
the  rise  of  hills  leading  up  to  the  crowning  moun- 
tains, which  seemed  to  have  established  themselves 
to  shelter  this  long,  beautiful  peninsula. 

"Now,  what  we  want  laid  out  first,"  declared  Bur- 
mah, wasting  no  time,  "is  the  main  business  street. 
"Isn't  that  right,  Colonel?" 

**It  is,"  solemnly  assented  the  Colonel,  feeling  for 


THE  BOOMERS.  55 

all  the  world  like  Christopher  Columbus  taking  pos- 
session of  a  new  land. 

"But,  gentlemen,"  expostulated  the  engineer,  still 
intent  on  making  the  future  city  of  Squaw  Point 
a  model  for  the  world  to  view  with  pleasurable  envy, 
"I  must  have  time  to  consider  the  land,  the  topog- 
raphy, the  forthcoming  necessities  of  commerce." 

Burmah  opened  his  lips  to  consign  the  forthcom- 
ing necessities  and  all  such  rubbish  to  the  discards; 
but  held  his  peace  when  he  perceived  the  Colonel's 
face.  The  old  veteran  was  in  an  ecstasy  of  enthu- 
siasm. The  word,  "commerce,"  had  struck  a  respon- 
sive chord,  like  the  echo  of  his  shibboleth.  To  ele- 
vate commercial  pursuits  that  he  might  prove  his 
gentlemanly  qualifications,  what  but  that  was  his 
mission?" 

"Mister  Hubbard,  Sir,"  he  said  in  his  most 
grandiose  manner,  "I  thank  you  for  so  directly  sug- 
gesting my  own  thoughts.  I  heartily  agree  with  you. 
Let  us  spare  no  pains,  or  loving  care,  to  make  this 
God's  city!  Let  it  be  an  honor,  Sir,  to  all  of  us. 
My  daughter.  Miss  Arabella,  would  express  the  same 
high  sentiment  were  she  here  to  share  with  us  this 
blissful  moment — the  moment  when  we  are  about  to 
plan  something  of  which  we  may  all  be  proud.  Take 
all  the  time  you  wish.  Sir." 

"But,  Colonel,  the  steamer!  We  won't  catch  it 
back  to  Seattle  if  we  put  in  too  much  time  here,"  pro- 
tested Burmah,  removing  his  hat,  and,  in  his  agita- 
tion, using  the  sacred  blue-bordered  handkerchief  to 
wipe  his  moist  brow. 

"To  hades  with  the  steamer!"  said  the  Colonel, 
magnificently.     "What  is  the  catching  of  a  steam- 


«6  THE  BOOMERS. 

boat,  Sir  compared  with  such  an  enterprise  as  this?" 
It  was  futile  to  argue*  now  that  the  Colonel  was 
fired  with  the  great  idea.  In  the  wake  of  the  Colonel 
and  the  artistic  engineer,  Burmah  trudged  about  over 
that  point  of  land  all  the  afternoon,  his  short  legs 
quaking  beneath  him  as  the  march  progressed,  and 
he  reduced  weight  more  rapidly  than  he  had  ever 
contemplated  when  reading  anti-fat  advertisements. 
Behind  him  followed  the  two  fishermen,  steadily  and 
placidly  chewing  tobacco  and  without  any  more  ex- 
pression on  their  faces  than  cud-chewing  sheep.  In- 
deed, they  resembled  mountain  goats  more  than  any- 
thing else  as  their  whiskers  wagged  in  time  to  their 
plodding  steps.  Patiently  too,  they  carried  the  poles, 
never  offering  to  lay  them  down,  but  intent  only  on 
earning  their  daily  wages  from  this  unexpected  wind- 
fall. They  might  even  have  repeated  the  words  of 
the  cannibal  chief  who  had  reverted  from  his  conver- 
sion, and  said,  at  sight  of  a  fat  man : 
"See,  Brother,  what  God  has  sent  us  ?^^ 
And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  steamer 
called  in,  that  night,  Burmah  Jones  was  the  only  one 
to  embark,  the  Colonel  having  nonchalantly  told  him 
to  go  ahead  with  his  plans  for  selling  off  some  of 
the  property,  and  promising  to  be  with  him  on  the 
following  day.  As  for  the  Colonel,  he  had  explained 
to  the  fishermen  that  he  would  accept  their  hospital- 
ity for  himself  and  Hubbard.  They  protested  that 
they  had  no  place  to  keep  guests,  but  the  Colonel 
assured  them  what  was  good  enough  for  them  would 
serve  him.  They  explained  that  their  fare  was 
meager;  but  the  Colonel  airily  dismissed  this  objec- 
tion with  the  statement  that  the  scenery  in  itself 


THE  BOOMERS.  57 

was  a  feast.  Consequently,  despite  themselves, 
Skaggs  and  Flay  found  themselves  hosts  to  two 
dreamers,  dreamers  who  made  merry  over  their  din- 
ner, and  sat  on  a  bench  in  front  of  the  cabin,  and 
smoked,  after  the  moon  had  arisen.  From  the  tent 
near  by  came  the  sound  of  whistling;  and,  later,  the 
Colonel  and  the  engineer  were  joined  by  the  young 
man  with  the  steady  gray  eyes. 

"Mister  Lester,  Sir,  I  believe,"  the  Colonel  said, 
getting  to  his  feet.  "Permit  me.  Sir,  the  honor  of  in- 
troducing to  you  my  dear  friend,  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  artistic  engineers.  Mister  Frederick  Hubbell, 
known  everywhere  as  the  father  of " 

"Hubbard !  Hubbard,  my  name  is,"  interposed  the 
author  of  the  "City  Beautiful." 

"And  my  name,  Sir,  is  Hatch,  Alonzo  Fairfax 
Hatch,"  the  Colonel  went  on  unblushingly,  in  his 
soft,  musical  drawl;  and  then,  before  Lester  could 
seat  himself,  he  had  launched  into  the  great  scheme 
of  making  Squaw  Point  the  most  heavenly  spot  on 
the  globe.  The  idea  was  growing  with  snow-ball 
rapidity.  Already  the  Colonel  saw  himself  fathering 
a  community  of  prosperous,  delighted  souls,  dwellers 
in  Utopia. 

Lester  had  small  need  to  seek  health,  so  far  as  ap- 
pearance went;  for  he  stood  close  upon  six  feet,  was 
broad-shouldered,  deep-chested'  and  tanned  to  a 
healthy  brown.  He  seemed  anything  but  loquacious ; 
yet,  had  he  been  so,  he  would  have  found  small  op- 
portunity in  this  outpouring  of  the  Colonel's  imagi- 
nation. He  stood  where  the  light  through  the  open 
door  of  the  cabin  shone  on  him,  his  fair  face 
expressing   keen,   though   whimsical,   enjoyment   at 


58  THE  BOOMERS. 

what  the  veteran  was  saying.  Hubbard,  too,  inter- 
ested him,  and  with  curious  eyes  he  scrutinized  the 
engineer  to  discover,  if  possible,  what  form  of  mad- 
ness possessed  this  man.  He  seemed  most  enter- 
tained by  the  Colonel's  theory  that  any  gentleman 
could  make  money  from  commerce  if  the  notion  seized 
him,  and  led  him  on,  by  a  few  adroit  questions,  until 
the  Colonel  had,  with  child-like  simplicity,  confided 
the  history  of  his  entire  past  life.  Lester  did  not 
permit  himself  to  laugh  until  he  had  bade  them 
good-night  and  found  the  seclusion  of  his  tent.  Then 
he  gave  himself  over  to  mirth. 

As  for  the  Colonel,  he  was  deeply  touched  when 
the  fishermen  insisted  that  their  bunks  should  be 
given  over  to  the  guests,  while  they  themselves  slept 
on  the  floor  with  one  blanket  under,  and  one  over 
them,  and  their  boots  for  pillows.  But  they  were  not 
to  go  unrewarded.  On  the  evening  following,  mel- 
lowed by  his  day's  work  and  the  growing  projects, 
the  Colonel  quite  magnanimously  presented  them 
with  the  land  on  which  their  cabin  stood. 

And  thus  was  made  the  first  transfer  of  a  part  of 
that  property  from  which  the  Colonel  proposed  to 
amass  a  fortune,  a  fine  strip  of  what,  if  Squaw  Point 
should  ever  become  a  city,  would  be  the  choicest  bit 
of  the  water-front. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  DREAMEE's  DAUGHTER  FAIR  JOURNEYS. 

Down  in  Chattanooga,  Arabella  Hatch,  daily  re- 
ceiving proposals  of  marriage  from  eligible  joung 
men,  and  attending  garden  parties  and  teas  under 
the  chaperonage  of  a  distant  cousin,  was  wavering  as 
to  whether  or  not  she  should  accept  Kirby  Smith,  or 
one  of  the  others.  She  had  no  ardent  love  for  Kirby, 
nor  dislike.  In  a  strange  indecision  she  continued 
until  a  telegram  from  the  Colonel  brushed  hesi- 
tation aside,  and  threw  her  into  a  state  of  unbounded 
enthusiasm.  Sitting  in  a  hammock,  with  Kirby  in  a 
garden  chair  at  her  side — ^he  had  made  his  fifth  pro- 
posal of  marriage — she  saw  the  messenger  boy  ap- 
proaching, and  for  a  moment  her  heart  gave  a  check 
of  the  sort  that  attacks  those  who  receive  few  mes- 
sages by  wire  other  than  chronicles  of  disaster  or 
death.  Her  hands  trembled  as  they  tore  the  yellow 
envelope  open,  and  Kirby  Smith,  clean  and  graceful, 
leaned  forward  and  watched  her,  his  face  depicting 
love  and  sympathy.  Then,  to  his  relief,  she  bounced 
from  the  hammock,  and  executed  a  very  fair  imitation 
of  Genee  doing  a  flower-dance. 

"There,"  she  exclaimed,  rapturously,  "I  told  you- 
all  it  would  happen !    It's  Daddy !    He's  done  it !" 

"Done  what?"  drawled  Kirby,  rather  disappointed 
that  he  was  not  to  have  the  opportunity  of  acting 
as  comforter. 

"Made  his  everlasting  fortune,"  jubilantly  re- 
plied Arabella.  "Here,  read  this,  if  you  don't  be- 
lieve it!" 

She  handed  the  pages  of  the  open  message  to  her 

59 


60  THE  BOOMERS. 

most  persistent  admirer  who  took  them  and  scanned 
them,  not  without  a  sly  smile  of  amusement. 

"Dear  Arabella,"  it  read.  "You  will  doubtless  re- 
member former  statement  mine  any  gentleman  could 
make  money  if  turned  attention  commercial  pur- 
suits. Bought  glorious  place  for  home  with  nice  bay 
for  yacht.  Waters  most  hundred  feet  deep.  Lots 
timber  and  Burmah  says  there's  a  fortune  in  it. 
Burmah  thinks  saw  mill  might  make  good.  Beautiful 
place  for  house.  Am  going  into  railway  business 
indirectly.  Wire  me  when  you  start.  Better  buy  a 
linen  duster  to  wear  on  train  because  it's  dusty  this 
time  year.  Your  old  red  tam  o'shanter  cap  will  be 
ideal  for  traveling.  Don't  ever  open  window  at  foot 
of  your  berth  because  your  feet  will  get  cold  cross- 
ing mountains.  Bring  Uncle  Jeff  and  Aunt  Sally 
with  you.  There  are  no  Jim  Crow  cars  but  they  have 
immigrant  sleepers.     Dad." 

Kirby  Smith  finished  reading  the  message,  and, 
having  just  graduated  from  law  school,  began  to  prac- 
tise his  profession  by  picking  flaws  in  the  telegram. 

"Who  is  Burmah?  Is  that  a  code  word?"  he  in- 
quired, politely. 

Arabella  did  not  know  whether  it  was  a  code  word, 
a  man,  or  a  patent  medicine. 

"It  doesn't  matter  about  that,"  she  insisted. 
"What  counts  is  that  Dad  has  made  his  fortune,  and 
bought  a  place,  and  is  going  to  have  a  yacht,  and  go 
into  the  lumber-business." 

"But  what  foozles  me,"  replied  Kirby,  "is  how  in 
the  deuce  he  could  have  done  it  so  quickly.  I  know 
they  have  gold  mines  out  there  in  Seattle,  and  all 
that,  but  it  takes  time  to  mine  gold." 


THE  BOOMERS.  61 

"Rubbish!  Leave  it  to  Dad!"  retorted  Arabella, 
with  an  airj  snap  of  her  fingers.  "Anyhow,  I  shall 
do  as  he  says,  and  go  West  at  once.  But,  just  now, 
I  am  going  over  to  the  tennis  courts." 

"Me,  too!"  cheerfully  asserted  Kirby. 

And,  on  the  way  to  the  courts  of  the  club  to  which 
they  belonged,  he  decided  that  the  quick  fortune  must 
have  been  made  from  speculation.  There  was  a 
rush  to  meet  the  two  when  they  appeared  at  the  court, 
where  three  airily  clad  young  men  were  industriously 
swinging  their  rackets. 

"There  they  are,  hang  'em!"  grimly  remarked 
Kirby  Smith,  his  expression  indicating  supreme  con- 
tempt for  three  of  his  classmates,  who,  also,  had 
just  taken  their  degrees  in  law.  But  neither  William 
Reynolds,  known  as  "Little  Billy,"  because  he  was 
a  young  giant,  Harry  Pickett,  known  as  "Pick," 
nor  Thomas  Travers,  known  as  "Tommy,"  appeared 
to  mind  anything  save  the  presence  of  Arabella, 
who  greeted  them  impartially. 

"Gather  round  me,  my  children,"  she  commanded, 
as  if  it  were  possible  to  gather  any  closer  than  they 
already  were,  "and  I  will  break  the  news.  Dad's  made 
a  fortune,  and  is  going  to  have  a  yacht,  and  a  saw-mill, 
and  I'm  going  West  to  grow  up  with  the  country !" 

The  message  passed  round,  and  all  agreed  that 
the  Colonel  was  a  wonder.  Gloom  fell  upon  the 
hearts  of  Arabella's  admirers  at  her  announcement 
that  she  would  depart  from  Chattanooga  in  just 
one  week.  But  Chattanooga  rejoiced  when  next 
morning's  newspaper  announced  in  very  glowing 
terms,  rendered  somewhat  vague  through  lack  of 
'definite  information,  the  success  of  Colonel  Aloozo 


62  THE  BOOMERS. 

Fairfax  Hatch.  No  one  cared  how  the  Colonel  had 
gained  riches,  and  there  was  none  to  envy  him,  or 
to  wish  him  anything  but  good  luck,  for  in  Chat- 
tanooga he  was  a  veritable  colonel  of  hearts.  The 
journal  found  it,  also,  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
a  "cheer-up"  editorial,  which  concluded  thus: 

"There  is  a  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  career 
of  our  distinguished  fellow  townsman,  and  that  les- 
son is  best  given  in  his  own  familiar  saying,  that 
'any  gentleman,  regardless  of  his  years,  may 
achieve  financial  success  if  he  turns  his  attention 
to  commercial  pursuits.'  Those  are  encouraging 
words,  voiced  by  a  brave  and  gallant  gentleman, 
who  practised,  and  proved,  what  he  so  aptly 
preached.  Undaunted  by  those  financial  misfor- 
tunes that  so  nearly  wrecked  a  fine  old  house,  no 
longer  young  in  years,  and  with  scarcely  anything 
save  a  spotlessly  clean  reputation,  he  turned  his 
face  Westward.  That  he  has  so  quickly  rehabilitated 
his  purse  proves  that  his  campaign  for  wealth  must 
have  been  as  dashing  as  were  his  charges  in  those 
gloomy  days  when  he  fought  for  that  which  was  to 
be  a  lost  cause.  The  discouraging,  although  fre- 
quently misquoted,  statement  of  a  great  scientist, 
that  a  man  at  forty-five  years  of  life  has  passed 
the  hey-day  of  accomplishment,  or  the  goal-mark  of 
hope  for  his  declining  years,  is  proven,  in  the  case 
of  Colonel  Hatch  at  least,  fallacious.  There  is  no 
age-limit  for  men  of  his  character.  It  is  such  as  he, 
brave  men,  clean  men,  intelligent  men,  who  are  the 
beacon  lights  of  our  national  life,  and  fortunate, 
indeed,  is  the  community  that  has  such  an  example 
to  save  others  from  the  rocks  of  discouragement." 


THE  BOOMERS.  68 

Arabella  was  proud  of  that  editorial.  She  even 
cried  a  little  with  happiness  when,  for  the  third  time, 
she  read  it.  She  carefully  clipped  it  out,  and  pre- 
served it.  Burmah  Jones  would  have  kept  it  less 
secret;  for  he  would  immediately  have  rushed  to  a 
printing  office  to  have  it  made  into  a  neat  and  tasty  cir- 
cular. The  Colonel  would  have  read  it  about  four 
times, then  blushed,  and  torn  it  up,  and  reluctantly  dis- 
missed the  subject  had  any  one  mentioned  it  to  him. 

But  Chattanooga  was  not  through  paying  honor 
to  one  of  its  finest  old  names.  A  Southern  city 
is  not  a  city  in  the  Northern  sense  of  the  word;  for 
the  reason  that  cities  of  the  South  regard  them- 
selves as  families;  not  mere  collections  of  individ- 
ual units  bent  on  devouring  one  another.  So,  on 
the  evening  preceding  her  departure,  Arabella  wa?^ 
given  a  parting  party  such  as  is  given  to  one 
of  a  family  stepping  out  and  away-  Kirby,  Little 
Billy,  and  Pick  and  Tommy,  were  there,  each  good- 
humoredly  intent  on  filling  her  card  with  his  own 
name  and  each,  in  turn,  endeavoring  to  extract  from 
her  a  promise  of  marriage.  Moreover,  the  quartet 
accompanied  her  home,  and  each  one  fancied  himself 
broken-hearted  because  she  declined  the  honor  of 
being  wife  to  any  young  man  with  whom  she  had 
gone  to  school,  although  the  young  man  might  have 
family  name,  and  be  the  prospective  inheritor  of 
sufficient  means  to  enable  him  to  idle  'away  the 
remainder  of  "his  natural  born  days." 

Alone  at  last,  in  the  home  of  a  friend,  where  she 
was  to  pass  the  last  night  of  her  stay  in  Chattanooga, 
The  moon  slipped  its  rays  softly  through  the  gardens, 
and  from  her  window  she  could  look  out  and  see  the 


64  THE  BOOMERS. 

towering  hill,  Lookout  Mountain.  At  its  feet  the 
river  wound  softly,  and  on  its  heights  the  lights  of  the 
hotel  glowed  faintly.  She  faced  the  hill,  wondering  if 
there  were  any  more  majestic  height  than  that  in  all 
the  world.  Up  on  its  brink,  she  knew,  stood  the  guns 
that  her  father  had  helped  to  defend  back  there  in 
the  tragic  war.  Across  from  it  were  the  grounds 
where  as  a  girl  she  had  gone  picnicking — and  now, 
come  to  remember  it,  Billy  and  Pick,  and  Tommy  and 
Kirby  had  nearly  always  been  there  on  the  same 
occasions.  A  spell  of  homesickness  came  over  her, 
and  vaguely  she  felt  rather  sorry  that  the  United 
States  was  not  polyandrous,  so  that  she  might  marry 
them  all.  Presently,  her  thoughts  drifted  to  her 
father,  and  remembering  that  he  had  made  such  a 
success,  her  mind  leaped  exultantly.  At  length,  she 
slept  the  restful  sleep  of  the  young,  and  awoke 
drowsily,  wondering  if  her  departure  for  that  far- 
distant  land  were  not  part  of  a  dream.  Resolutely 
she  had  refused  to  be  sad. 

At  the  railway  station  she  found  Uncle  Jeff  and 
Aunt  Sally  waiting  for  her,  and  Uncle  Jeff  had  at- 
tired himself,  as  befitted  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school  about  to  become  a  great  traveler,  in  a  silk  hat 
that  had  once  belonged  to  the  Colonel,  and  a  uniform 
of  the  Ancient  Sons  of  Africa,  resplendent  with  much 
braid.  Several  members  of  the  Order  were  there  to 
bid  him  good-by.  Arabella  rebelled  at  that  gorgeous 
traveling  costume,  and,  after  smothering  with 
laughter,  explained  to  Uncle  Jeff  that  the  Order 
might  not  be  in  existence  in  the  far  West,  and  that, 
for  the  sake  of  its  preservation'  his  uniform  should  be 
exchanged  for  a  more  commonplace  garb.  Uncle  Jeff 


THE  BOOMERS.  65 

was  not  in  the  least  abashed  by  this,  and  ca«ie  closer 
to  her,  the  sun  reflecting  on  his  blue  and  shiny  bald  head. 

"Deedy,  Ah  understands  dat,  Missy  Arabella,"  hfi 
whispered,  hoarsely,  "an'  Ah's  dun  got  mah  odder 
clothes  whar  Ah  can  git  'em;  but  ry^ou  see.  Missy, 
Ah've  been  gran'  Chief  Sagamoah  of  de  Ordah  so 
long,  Ah's  expectin'  a  delegation  of  de  brudders  down 
heah  to  see  me  off." 

He  did  not  explain  that  for  some  days  it  had 
been  an  open  secret  to  him  that  the  Order  proposed  to 
make  him  a  suitable  gift,  or  that  he  cherished  expecta- 
tions that  a  king's  ovation  would  be  as  a  side  show- 
compared  with  the  "send  off"  the  members  would  give 
him.  So  Arabella  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  plat- 
form, and  bade  farewell  to  her  o^n  friends,  who  gave 
her  floivers  and  candies,  and  solicitous  advice.  The 
quartet  was  there,  and  acted  as  porters  to  carry  these 
offerings  to  her  state-room,  each  of  its  members 
exhibiting  a  calm  fortitude  and  a  firm  resolve  to 
"tote"  the  major  part  of  the  contributions. 

There  came  a  final  clash  of  noise,  and  everything 
else  was  drowned  in  the  discordant  clamor  of  a  very 
blaring  band  that  marched  out  upon  the  platform. 
Wondering,  those  within  seeing  distance  stared.  The 
Ancient  Sons  of  Africa  had  arrived.  Every  one  had 
to  know  it.  A  very  proud  drum-major  led  the  way, 
flourishing  a  magnificent  home-made  baton.  Trom- 
bones, blown  by  dusky  brothers  whose  cheeks  puffed, 
and  who  rolled  their  eyes  sidewise,  cracked  and 
spluttered  as  each  man  endeavored  to  add  arpeggios 
to  the  music;  an  immense  darkey  threatened  to  split 
the  head  of  an  immense  base  drum;  a  cornetist  who 
had  once  played  with  a  minstrel  show,  and  who  now 


66  THE  BOOMERS. 

,wore  a  cap  with  "Director"  shining  on  its  braid, 
nearly  killed  himself  trying  to  catch  a  high  note  on 
an  E-flat  cornet.  The  station  rocked  with  noise. 
Behind  the  band  came  a  procession  of  dusky  brothers, 
in  the  van  of  which  walked  the  gift  committee,  and  in 
front  of  all,  shrouded  in  an  immense  dignity,  stood 
Uncle  Jeff. 

From  the  steps  of  the  Pullman  coach,  Arabella 
could  see  that  he  was  being  presented  with  a  huge 
silver-plated  water-pitcher,  together  with  what  looked 
like  an  old  hotel  tray,  burnished  for  the  offering.  She 
also  knew;  that  Uncle  Jeff's  speech  was  interrupted 
by  the  train-men,  who  rudely  insisted  that  the  train 
,was  obliged  to  depart  on  time.  She  saw  that  Uncle 
Jeff,  with  Aunt  Sally,  and  the  water-pitcher  and 
tray,  was  being  hustled  aboard,  she  heard  the  band 
strike  up  again,  her  own  friends  bade  her  farewell,  the 
bell  on  the  locomotive  clanged  in  with  the  chorus,  the 
.wheels  moved,  and  her  journey  had  begun  its  first 
stage  of  a  progress  not  unlike  the  long  film-reel  of 
a  six-day  moving  picture.  She  turned  back,  some- 
what tearfully,  and  bumped  into  a  young  man  who 
was  struggling  to  don  a  linen  duster.  Something 
about  his  back  was  familiar.  He  turned  toward  her, 
and  grinned.    Little  Billy  looked  down  at  her. 

"For  heaven's  sake!  Billy!  Where  are  you: 
going?"  she  demanded.  "I  thought  I  missed  you  just 
before  we  left." 

"Me?"  grinned  little  Billy.  "I'm  going  to  Seattle 
to  practise  law.  Got  to  start  sometime,  you  know. 
Think  I  fooled  the  other  fellows.  Kept  mum  as  a 
clapperless  bell !" 

**5Vell,  what  in  the  dev— - !"  a  voice  sounded  behind 


THE  BOOMERS'.  67i 

them;  and  together  they  turned  to  see  who  had  uttered 
the  exclamation.  And  there  stood  two  other  young 
gentlemen,  each  attired  in  a  linen  duster,  and  these  two 
were  staring  at  each  other.  Pick  and  Tommy!  Little 
Billy's  face  grew  black,  and  he  rushed  toward  them. 

"Say,"  he  demanded,  "where  do  you  fellows  think 
you're  going?" 

They  turned  toward  him,  frowning,  and  then,  at 
sight  of  Arabella,  grinned  amiably. 

"Seattle !"  they  declared  in  unison,  and  resolutely. 
J'hey,  too,  had  secretly  decided  upon  Seattle. 

"Well,  of  all  things !"  exclaimed  Arabella,  scarcely 
knowing  whether  to  be  amused  or  annoyed,  while 
the  three  rivals  eyed  one  another,  and  the  other 
passengers  in  the  car,  settling  their  belongings,  gaped 
at  them.    "Isn't  that  splendid !" 

The  humor  of  the  situation  dawned  on  the  trio,  and 
they  laughed  together,  and  agreed  that  it  might  be 
worse — each  one,  however,  disappointed  that  the 
others  were  there. 

"Well,  anyhow,"  cheerfully  announced  Little  Billy 
in  his  big'  bass  growl,  "we've  got  rid  of  Kirby! 
That's  something  to  be  thankful  for," 

They  turned  to  escort  her  to  her  state-room  at  the 
rear  of  the  car  when  a  porter  came  toward  them, 
talking  volubly. 

*'Yas,  Sah!  De  cawnductor  don'  told  me  you  c'd 
change  to  numbah  f oah.    Heah  it  am,  Sah !" 

The  porter  swung  a  suit-case  deftly  under  the 
seat  of  section  four,  and,  as  he  bent  over,  exposed 
behind  him  another  young  gentleman  in  a  linen  duster. 

"Of  course,  you're  going  to  sneak  away  from 
Chattanooga  to  Seattle  to  practise  law!"  a  scornful 


68  THE  BOOMERS. 

chorus  of  voices  declared,  as  the  three  others  of 
Arabella's  admirers  pounced  down  on  him.  "Don't 
tell  us  jou  aren't !    It  would  hurt  our  feelings !" 

Kirbj  shielded  his  head  and  face  with  his  hands 
as  they  advanced  on  him,  and  backed  until  he 
threatened  to  smash  the  window. 

"Well,  why  shouldn't  I?"  he  demanded,  savagely. 
^'Anybody  going  to  stop  me?  JVhat  are  you  all 
doing  here?" 

"Going  to  practise  law  in  Seattle,"  they  chanted, 
and  then,  finding  a  tune  that  fitted  it,  repeated  it  in 
a  sing-song  drone  of  dirge-like  quality. 

Arabella  escaped  to  the  seclusion  of  her  state-room 
.where  she  slammed  the  door,  and  sat  down  and 
wondered  whether  she  should  cry  with  vexation,  or 
laugh  with  enjoyment,  because  she  was  to  have  such 
able  protectors  for  the  forthcoming  tedious  journey. 
She  decided  to  laugh. 

And,  even  at  that  moment.  Uncle  Jeff,  put  on  the 
coach  forward,  which  he  would  be  compelled  to  occupy 
until  later  in  the  evening  when  he  could  have  his 
berth  in  the  sleeper,  was  doffing  his  regimentals  to  re- 
place them  with  what  he  fancied  would  be  a  suitable 
costume  for  the  wild  and  woolly  West.  He  also 
stared  apprehensively  at  a  huge  hammerless  gun, 
which  he  had  bought  from  a  dealer  in  second-ha^d 
goods,  who  had  guaranteed  it  not  to  shoot,  but  to 
frighten  any  one  who  looked  at  it,  and  especially  Red 
Indians.  Aunt  Sally,  in  the  meantime,  was  doing 
the  best  job  of  weeping  that  had  been  done  on  that 
train  since  it  shook  the  dust  of  Chattanooga  from  its 
wheels.  So,  in  this  fashion,  Arabella  started  West- 
ward. 


CHAPTER  yi. 

.WHILE    THE    KNAVE    LAYS    PLANS. 

BuEMAH  Jones,  rather  pleased  by  the  prospects, 
and  having  a  free  hand,  used  it.  His  campaign  was 
simplicitT^  itself.  He  merely  notified  the  big  morning 
newspaper,  on  his  return  from  Squaw  Point,  that  he 
had  a  story  for  a  good  man,  met  the  good  man 
graciously,  took  him  out  and  fed  him  on  crab  flakes 
and  champagne,  and  then  confided  to  him  the  great 
secret. 

"It's  not  what  I  intended  to  tell  you,  young  man," 
said  Burmah,  confidentially;  "but  I  just  can't  help 
giving  you  a  good  story.  It  may  be  a  disappointment 
to  Seattle,  but  that  part  I'm  sorry  for.    This  is  it !" 

He  leaned  farther  across  the  table  and  said : 

"The  A.  and  O.  Railway  Directors  are  all  friends 
of  mine.  I  don't  want  to  be  quoted  in  this,  but  you 
can  be  safe  in  saying  that  you  have  the  story  from 
what  you  newspaper  mien  call  a  reliable  source. 
The  A.  and  O.  has  got  the  financial  end  of  its  game 
straightened  out,  and  it's  got  all  the  money  it  needs. 
See?  Well,  it's  going  ahead,  right  this  minute,  with 
the  preliminary  surveys,  and  its  line  is  just  about 
as  close  to  mapped  out  as  is  possible  for  anything 
to  be.  And  you  can't  guess  where  she  is  goin'  to  hit 
tidewater  ?  Squaw  Point !  Look  it  up  in  your  maps, 
and  you'll  find  that's  an  ideal  bay  for  big  steamers, 
and  it's  fifty-three  miles  nearer  the  mouth  of  Puget 
Sound.    The  A.  and  O.'s  a-goin'  to  make  that  place  up 

69 


70  THE  BOOMERS. 

there  the  biggest  thing  in  the  way  of  a  hummer  town 
that's  ever  been  started.  There's  a  man  more  or  less 
connected  with  'em  up  there  right  at  this  moment. 
Now,  the  reason  I  don't  want  you  to  quote  me 
is  that  it  might  cost  me  some  fat  commissions,  because 
I've  handled  real  estate  for  a  heap  of  railroads  in 
my  time. 

"And  I'm  trustin'  to  your  confidence  this  much, 
just  because  I  like  you,  and  want  you  to  have  a  real 
good  story.    Ain't  that  all  right?" 

The  reporter  asked  a  few  shrewd  questions,  but, 
influenced  by  the  frankness  of  Mr.  Jones,  was  half- 
convinced  that  the  story  might  be  true.  If  true,  it 
was,  indeed,  big  news.  He  made  a  hasty  departure, 
and  headed  for  his  city  editor's  office.  That  astute 
and  sceptical  gentleman  repaired  to  the  telegraph- 
room,  consulted  with  the  telegraph-editor,  then  wired 
a  Fargo  newspaper  to  know  if  there  was  anything  to 
corroborate  the  report.  Back  came  the  reply  that  the 
Fargo  paper  would  on  the  following  morning  print 
a  statement  that  the  A.  &  O.  had  again  resumed 
activity,  because  that  very  afternoon  three  distinct 
surveying  parties  had  begun  work.  Further,  the 
paper  was  credibly  informed  that  the  road  would  be 
rushed  forward  to  become  a  great  Transcontinental 
line,  and  that  Fargo  stood  the  best  chance  of  becom- 
ing the  division  headquarters  for  the  line,  which 
meant  that  Fargo  would  be  the  site  for  large  machine 
and  construction  shops. 

In  the  local  room  of  the  great  Seattle  daily,  where 
news  had  been  dull  and  leading  events  scarce  in  the 
day's  gleanings,  Burmah's  announcement  was  hailed 
with  delight.    It  was  "played  up,"  and  featured.    It 


THE  BOOMERS.  71 

was  used  as  subject  for  an  editorial  headed,  "Boost 
for  Seattle !"  and,  in  this,  the  citizens  and  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  were  called  upon  to  exert  themselves  to 
see  that  the  terminal  on  the  Pacific  Coast  should  be 
no  other  city  than  Seattle  itself. 

The  pot  of  Burmah  Jones  was  bubbling  when  he 
sat  in  his  pajamas  on  the  following  morning,  and 
with  rare  delight  read  the  columns  devoted  to  his 
story.  His  guile  had  worked  better  than  he  had 
dared  to  hope.  There  faced  him  his  free  advertising, 
in  pure  reading  matter! 

"It's  ten  chances  to  one,"  he  said  to  himself,  "that 
none  of  the  railway  Directors  will  take  the  trouble 
to  deny  it  until  the  rumpus  kicked  up  is  a  lot  bigger 
than  now.  And,  by  the  time  they  get  ready  to  say  to 
Mister  Chamber  of  Commerce,  'We  don't  know  nothin' 
about  any  Squaw  Point  and  never  heard  of  it,'  Wil- 
liam Burmah  Jones  will  have  his,  and  be  on  his  merry 
little  way,  and  the  Colonel,  unless  he's  too  big  a 
fool,  will  have  got  mor'n  his  five  thousand  back,  and 
be  pattin'  himself  on  the  left  shoulder-blade  because 
he's  learned  how  easy  it  is  for  a  gentleman  to  make 
money  from  commercial  pursuits  !    By  Gad,  Sir !" 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  Burmah  permitted  him- 
self to  be  interviewed  by  two  evening  newspapers,  and 
adroitly  intimated  that,  while  he  was  nothing  but 
an  employee,  there  might  be  a  story  coming  within 
a  day  or  two  from  Squaw  Point.  His  role  was  now 
that  of  an  extremely  busy  and  reticent  man.  He  had 
set  the  stage  for  the  reporters  by  taking  a  suite  of 
rooms  at  a  more  pretentious  hotel,  and,  when  they 
interviewed  him,  they  found  him  dictating  letters  to 
a  stenographer.     Needless  to  say,  he  had  not  ex- 


7a  THE  BOOMERS. 

plained  that  she  was  hire^i  for  just  one  week,  and  that 
the  letters  he  wrote  were  carefully  signed,  sealed, 
and,  after  the  girl's  departure,  just  as  carefully 
destroyed.  If  all  the  magnates  to  whom  these  letters 
were  addressed  in  such  friendly,  confidential  terms, 
had  received  them,  there  would  have  been  more  sur- 
prised millionaires  in  the  United  States  than  had 
ever  before  been  jarred  by  crank  letters.  Burmah 
had  shrewdly  calculated  that  his  stenographer  might 
be  impressed,  and  do  some  confidential  talking.  And 
his  judgment  was  not  at  fault,  for  never  before  hacl 
she  worked  for  a  man  who  addressed  Rockefeller  as, 
"Dear  Old  John,"  Vanderbilt  as,  "Dear  Bill,"  and 
Morgan  as,  "M^  old  friend,  Pierp !" 

Surely,  such  a  man  knew  whereof  he  spoke,  and 
fraternized  with  the  great. 

Eagerly  Burmah  waited  for  the  Colonel  to  return ; 
but  the  Colonel,  carried  away  by  the  artistic  endeavor 
and  poetic  fluency  of  Hubbard,  passed  another 
day  on  Squaw  Point.  On  the  second  night,  alone 
in  his  room,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  with  his  sparse  gray 
bair  ruffled,  and  collarless,  Burmah  worked  over  news- 
paper advertisements.  Veteran  campaigner  that  he 
was,  the  seductive,  flamboyant  copy  grew  beneath  his 
hands.  This  was  to  be  the  golden  opportunity.  A 
dollar  invested  now,  would  quadruple  itself  within 
three  months.  It  was  a  certainty  that  Squaw  Point 
would  be  the  terminus !  It  was  fifty-three  miles  nearer 
the  open  Pacific  than  any  other  available  city  on 
Puget  Sound,  and  had  the  finest  harbor  facilities  in 
the  world. 

"Sheltered  from  the  wind  and  the  waves,  it  is  the 
ideal  retreat  for  the  tired  ships  of  the  sea,"  his  copy 


THE  BOOMERS.  78 

read.  "A  battle-ship  could  anchor  in  its  quiet  depths, 
secure  from  storm  and  stress,  and  the  leviathans  of 
the  Transatlantic  trade  could  dock  at  its  teeming 
wharves." 

He  told  of  the  generosity  of  the  great  Transconti- 
nental line  in  permitting  the  public  to  profit  by  this 
real-estate  purchase,  and  so  adroitly  did  he  word  his 
matter  that  the  renowned  A.  and  O.  itself  could  find 
no  legitimate  reason  to  put  a  stop  to  his  use  of  its 
name.  He  reveled  in  adjectives,  and  intoxicated  him- 
self with  hyperbole,  sitting  there  bent  over  his  huge 
pieces  of  writing  paper.  He  chewed  the  butts  of 
pencils  to  splinters,  and  wore  out  erasers,  adjusting 
his  display  print.  Past  master  of  fake  sales,  appre- 
ciating the  tremendous  power  of  advertising,  he  was 
like  an  old  war-horse  scenting  the  battle  at  hand. 
This  was  to  be  his  supreme  effort,  this  boom  that  must 
reach  a  climax,  render  profits,  and  permit  him  to 
depart  within  a  few  days.  A  week  or  two,  at  the 
most,  he  calculated,  would  be  the  ultimate  limit,  and 
this  required  quick  work,  even  for  a  man  who  had  the 
gift  of  getting  other  persons'  money  for  nothing. 

"Everything  has  got  to  be  put  over  with  a  punch," 
he  said  to  himself,  when,  tired  and  anxious,  he 
went  to  bed.  "I'll  try  to  save  the  Colonel  his  five 
thousand;  but  that  long-haired  Hubbard  guy  will 
have  to  look  out  for  himself.  He  don't  look  as  if 
he'd  starve  to  death,  anyhow,  so  long  as  there  are 
hen-roosts !" 

He  was  at  the  dock  to  meet  the  Colonel  and  the 
engineer  when  they  returned,  and  to  hurry  them 
to  his  rooms.  Convinced  that  the  time  had  come 
when  he  would  have  to   depend  on   diplomacy,  he 


74  THE  BOOMERS. 

adopted  the  role  of  listener,  silent  and  attentive, 
when  Hubbard,  over  the  dinner,  expatiated  upon 
his  far-reaching  plans,  and  the  Colonel  glowed  ap- 
proval. He  let  the  engineer  run  his  course,  then 
dismissed  him  with  the  injunction  that  the  plats  for 
the  main  street  of  Squaw  Point  must  be  finished 
by  the  next  evening,  even  if  he  had  to  work  with- 
out sleeping  or  eating  in  the  interim.  Hubbard 
departed,  and  Burmah  found  himself  alone  with 
the  Colonel,  who  walked  up  and  down  the  room 
lauding  the  beauties  of  wonderful  Squaw  Point. 

"Arabella's  going  to  be  the  happiest  girl  on 
earth,"  he  said.  "When  she  sees  how  successful 
her  father's  been,  how  there's  a  glorious  city  spring- 
ing up,  and  how  everything's  all  right  again,  she'll 
just  naturally  put  her  arms  round  her  old  Dad's 
neck,  and  say,  'I  told  them  you'd  do  it !  I  told  them 
all  the  time!'  Yes,  Sir,  Mr.  Jones,  we've  got  this 
thing  right  by  the  horns !  I've  always  insisted.  Sir, 
that  a  gentleman,  should  he  but " 

Burmah  Jones,  wily  but  impatient,  decided  that 
this  was  the  time  to  strike. 

"By  the  way.  Colonel,"  he  interrupted,  "I  believe 
it's  understood  that  me  and  you's  to  share  on  this 
first  sale,  ain't  it?" 

The  Colonel  stopped  and  looked  at  him  with  an 
aggrieved  air,  and  Burmah  feared  that  he  had  ad- 
vanced his  demand  too  abruptly. 

"Share?  Share,  Sir?  I'm  a  Hatch,  Sir.  No 
man  ever  did  a  Hatch  a  favor  who  was  not  re- 
quited. Of  course  I  thought  that  was  all  under- 
stood." 

Plainly,  he  was  wounded  by  a  suggestion  that  he, 


THE  BOOMERS.  75 

a  Hatch,  might  forget  a  friend.  Burmah  was  on 
his  feet,  and  had  the  Colonel's  hand  in  an  instant. 

"My  dear  Colonel,"  he  expostulated,  "you  didn't 
understand  me.  Certainly  I  understood  that  I  was 
to  share  in  your  great  success;  but  what  I  thought 
of,  was  how  we  were  to  arrive  at  the  most  equitable 
method  of  division.  Here!  Suppose  we  sell  some 
lots  to  get  people  interested  in  this  new  and  future 
great  city,  and  that  you  and  I  alternately  take  the 
proceeds  from  alternate  lots  in  the  first  sale.  Could 
anything  be  fairer  than  that?" 

"Why,  Lord  bless  me,  Sir !"  promptly  replied  the 
Colonel,  with  his  customary  liberality.  "I  couldn't 
have  thought  of  anything  better  than  that.  In  fact. 
Sir,  I  was  on  the  very  eve  of  suggesting  the  plan, 
myself." 

And  Burmah  sat  down,  debating  whether  it  would 
be  necessary  for  him  to  have  the  agreement  in 
writing,  and  decided  that  it  wouldn't.  The  thing  to 
do  now  was  to  use  the  Colonel  and  Hubbard  to  the 
utmost  as  advertising  possibilities.  Hubbard  would 
prove  easy;  but  the  Colonel,  he  decided,  might 
prove  troublesome.  A  brilliant  idea  invaded  his 
mind.  Why  not  follow  out  his  tried  and  approved 
method  of  letting  the  Colonel  think  he  was  doing  it 
all,  and  "turn  him  loose"?  He  began  by  joining 
that  delightful  old  dreamer  in  plans  for  this  wonder- 
ful city-to-be,  and  then  said : 

"Of  course,  Colonel,  neither  me  nor  you  are  hogs. 
yVe  want  other  folks  to  share  this  with  us,  don't  we?" 

"Of  course.  Sir!  Of  course!  There  is  profit 
enough  in  this  coming  metropolis  of  the  North-west 


76  THE  BOOMERS. 

to  enable  many  a  man,  Sir,  to  repair  his  battered 
fortunes." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  thoughtfully,  "the  quicker 
they  get  action  on  this  battered-fortune  business, 
the  better  it'll  be  for  'em.  I  think  we  ought  to  do 
some  advertising." 

The  Colonel,  previous  to  his  trip  to  Squaw  Point, 
had  always  regarded  advertising  with  abhorrence; 
but,  while  en  route  to  that  land  of  promise,  the 
far-sighted  Burmah  had  surreptitiously  slipped  into 
the  Colonel's  pocket  a  few  copies  of  booklets  issued 
by  advertising  agencies,  wherein  it  was  plainly  told 
that  none  but  the  advertiser  could  be  considered 
honest,  up-to-date,  or  worth  while.  And,  as  the 
Kansan  had  hoped,  this  seed  had  borne  fruit. 

The  Colonel  now  leaned  back  in  his  chair,  with  an 
air  of  profound  wisdom,  and,  much  to  Burmah's 
enjoyment,  quoted,  almost  word  for  word,  some  of 
the  advanced-thought  ideas  from  that  stack  of 
literature. 

"The  modern  highway  to  success,"  he  said,  "is 
paved  with  advertisement.  The  road  to  failure  is 
lined  with  wrecks  of  those  who  never  learned  the 
value  of  printer's  ink." 

"By  heck.  Colonel,"  Burmah  burst  out  enthusiasti- 
cally, "you  are  a  wonder.  I  never  could  have 
thought  of  that  in  this  world.  It's  a  positive  educa- 
tion to  be  associated  with  a  man  of  red-hot  business 
ideas,  such  as  you've  got!  Will  you  write  some 
of  those  thrillers  up?" 

The  poor  old  Colonel  suddenly  wilted  over  his 
chair.    He  had  never  written  an  advertisement  in  his 


THE  BOOMERS.  77 

life.    Hq  had  seldom  read  one.    Burmah  came  to  his 
relief. 

"But  that's  sort  of  mean  for  me  to  let  you  do  all 
the  work,  Colonel,  while  I'm  doin'  nothin'  but  sit 
around  and  let  you  get  the  ideas,  furnish  the  money, 
and  make  money  for  me!  I'll  try  to  j?rite  those 
ads." 

,The  Colonel  beamed  on  him. 
"I  beg  of  you,,  Sir,  not  to  feel  that  way  about 
it,"  he  insisted.  "It  is  true,"  he  continued,  modestly, 
*'that  I  have  devoted  considerable  time,  study  and 
research  to  modern  business  methods;  but  I  have 
had  great  opportunities.  Mister  Jones.  Providence 
has  been  very  kind  to  me  and  mine.  I  think,  just 
to  let  you  gain  experience,  I  will  let  you  try  to 
write  some  of  those  advertisements.  You  are  a 
much  younger  man  than  I,  and  should  have  your 
chance.  I'll  give  it  to  you.  Yes,  Sir,  you  shall 
have  your  chance!" 

"Thank  you.  Colonel,"  said  the  graj^eful  Burmah 
Jones.  "Now,  about  gettin'  the  folks  up  there  after 
the  ads  are  out?  Did  I  hear  you  mention  takin'  a 
steamer  to  carry  fellers  up  there  free  of  expense, 
and  then  sellin'  the  first  lots  at  auction?" 

The  Colonel's  mouth  hung  open,  and  he  gasped 
at  the  audacity  of  this  campaign.  He  had  never 
thought  or  heard  of  such  a  bold  enterprise;  he 
wondered  what  it  would  cost  to  charter  a  steamer. 
But  Burmah  gave  him  no  time  to  object. 

"That  was  a  brilliant  idea  of  yours,  Colonel," 
he  went  on,  with  fervent  heartiness.  "You  were 
quite  right.  All  that  is  necessary  to  start  that 
beautiful  city  into  active  creation,  is  to  show  the 


78  THE  BOOMERS. 

place  to  the  people.  The  auction  sale  proves  that 
you  are  in  earnest.  It's  like  handin'  'em  money  on  a 
silver-plated  platter.  .They'll  jump  at  the  chance! 
They'll  buy  lots,  and  we'll  explain  to  'em  that  we 
want  'em  to  build  on  'em,  although  of  course  it  would 
be  against  the  sacred  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  guaranteein'  liberty  to  all,  to  make  'em  do 
it.  They'll  build  fast  enough,  anyhow.  Who 
could  help  it?  Why,  it's  goin'  to  be  the  swellest 
town  on  earth.  A  man  would  almost  go  out  and 
commit  murder  to  get  the  money  to  build  a  house  on 
that  magnificent  headland.  Yes,  Siree!  That  was 
a  great  idea  of  yours,  Colonel !     Positively  great !" 

"It  comes  from  patient  thought,  Sir,"  said  the 
Colonel,  modestly.  "I've  had  to  think  of  a  great 
many  things  in  my  time;  but,"  he  concluded  as  an 
afterthought,  voicing  his  great  homesickness,  "Ara- 
bella's been  a  very  wise  counsellor  to  me.  Sir.  She's 
a  wonderful  child." 

His  mind  reverted  to  Arabella,  with  her  hair  wav- 
ing as  she  played  tennis,  or  her  lissome  body,  wonder- 
fully rounded,  bending  over  her  saddle  as  her  horse 
vaulted  the  old  "stake-and-ridered"  fences  up  in  the 
Tennessee  hills;  the  dance  of  her  eyes  at  some 
particularly  reckless  feat  accomplished;  the  laugh, 
like  a  wonderful  golden  bell,  when  he  reproached  hei 
for  some  girlish  prank;  the  assumed  meekness,  when 
he  chided  her  for  some'  extravagance  of  expenditure ; 
the  warm  and  tender  kiss  on  his  cheek;  the  loving 
strength  of  her  arms  around  his  neck  that  stifled 
every  attempt  at  sternness. 

"And  another  thing,  Colonel,"  the  voice  of  Bur- 
mah,  studiedly  careless,  interrupted  his  reverie.     "I 


THE  BOOMERS.      .  79 

forgot  to  tell  jou,  that  somebody  has  leaked  about 
Squaw  Point  bein'  the  prospective  terminus  for  the 
A.  and  O.  They  talked  to  me  some  about  it,  and  I 
told  'em  that  I  couldn't  say  much,  but  that  you 
were  up  there  with  Hubbard,  and  that  maybe  you'd 
tell  'em  what  kind  of  a  city  you  are  going  to  build 
on  that  splendid  patch  of  ground.  I  knew  you 
wouldn't  mind.  I'll  telephone  the  newspaper  man 
to  come  up." 

For  an  instant,  the  Colonel  threatened  panic.  He 
looked  wildly  about  the  room,  as  if  seeking  an  excuse 
to  escape;  but  Burmah  had  already  stepped  to  the 
telephone,  and  called  the  city  editor  of  the  big 
morning  paper.  With  the  receiver  in  one  hand 
and  the  other  one  fatly  shutting  off  the  transmitter, 
he  talked  to  the  Colonel  while  awaiting  an  answer, 
talked  persistently  as  if  to  avoid  interference. 

"All  you  have  to  do,  Colonel,  is  to  be  close.  Let 
them  do  the  guessing  about  the  A.  and  O.  Me  and 
you  can't  betray  confidence.  So  do  most  of  your 
talkin'  about  what  a  wonderful  harbor  that  is,  and 
what  a  'City  Beautiful'  this  feller  Hubbard  is  a-goin' 
to  make." 

He  turned  to  the  telephone,  and  explained  that 
Colonel  Alonzo  Hatch  was  at  the  hotel,  having  re- 
turned from  Squaw  Point,  and  that  he  thought  it 
might  be  of  interest  to  their  readers  to  hear  what 
the  Colonel  had  to  say.  Then  he  hung  up  the  re- 
ceiver briskly. 

"They'll  have  a  man  here  in  five  minutes,"  he 
said.  "And,  now,  Colonel,  don't  knock  the  A.  and  O. 
Just  look  mysterious  whenever  this  feller  asks  you 
anything  about  it." 


80  THE  BOOMERS. 

He  sat  and  rapidly  advised  the  bewildered  old 
veteran,  coaching  him  indirectly  for  the  forthcoming 
interview,  until  the  reporter  arrived,  after  which  he 
made  the  introductions,  and  assumed  the  air  of  a 
mere  underling,  a  respectful  and  meek  employee  of 
a  great  man,  while  the  Colonel,  warming  to  his  own 
dreams,  expatiated  on  the  magnificence  of  that  city 
which  as  yet  existed  only  in  his  and  Hubbard's  minds. 
It  stretched  out  into  a  fairy  place,  with  towers, 
flower-bordered  streets,  beauteous  parks,  prosperous 
shipping  and  an  orderly  community.  It  was  to  be 
a  city  of  good  will  and  brotherly  love.  It  was  to 
have  the  most  modern  improvements,  and  to  be  the 
most  sanitary  place  on  the  globe.  There  were  to  be 
no  old  men  in  it,  because  no  one  could  ever  die 
within  its  limits.  Besides,  persons  would  not  wish  to 
die  when  they  were  so  well  acquainted  and  happy  in 
Squaw  Point,  heaven  having  lost  its  attractions. 

The  reporter  wondered  whether  he  was  in  contact 
with  a  poet,  a  madman,  or  a  marvelous  realty  agent. 
And,  always,  when  the  interviewer  referred  to  the 
A.  &  O.,  the  Colonel  insisted  that  he  had  nothing 
to  say  about  the  future  plans  of  the  great  Trans- 
continental line,  which  more  than  ever  gave  the 
impression  that  this  old  man  was  wise,  and  knew 
all  about  it,  yet  too  acutely  cautious  and  reserved 
to  say  anything.  His  very  denial  that  he  knew  any- 
one connected  with  the  A.  &  O.  gave  color  to  the 
belief  that  he  knew  all  about  it.  His  very  ingenuous- 
ness and  frankness,  caused  conviction  that  he  was 
concealing  a  vast  number  of  cards  in  his  sleeve. 

The  interviewer  left  with  many  notes,  and  at  the 
very  door  was  told,  incidentally  by  the  Kansan,  that 


THE  BOOMERS.  81 

Mr.  Hubbard  could  be  found  at  such-and-such  a 
place,  he  thought,  but  wasn't  quite  certain.  So  the 
reporter  hastened  to  the  Hubbard  abode,  exactly  as 
Burmah  Jones  had  anticipated,  to  find  that  young 
enthusiast  working  his  head  off  over  drawings  and 
plats,  and  unable  to  tell  anything  save  that  he  had 
been  given  carte  blanche  to  plan  for  Squaw  Point  the 
most  beautiful  and  model  city  in  existence,  the  em- 
bodiment of  the  Hubbard  idea;  that  his  clients  ap- 
peared to  have  money  to  burn;  that  great  wharves 
were  proposed ;  that  the  Colonel  was  a  most  wonder- 
ful old  gentleman;  and  that  outlay,  in  this  mar- 
velous enterprise,  was  to  be  merely  a  secondary  con- 
sideration. 

All  of  which  was  news — If  not  entirely  convincing. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TO    ROB    THE    TRUSTFUL. 

Two  days  later,  the  Colonel  walked  proudly  up 
and  down  the  beach  of  Squaw  Point,  and  saw  two 
rough  timber-men,  assisted  by  Hank  and  Flay,  the 
latter  looking  as  dilapidated  as  ever,  hurriedly 
spiking  the  last  of  the  poles  for  a  primitive  pier. 
It  was  a  necessity  that  the  Colonel,  intent  on  philo- 
sophizing over  the  manner  in  which  gentlemen  make 
money,  had  overlooked;  but  Burmah  Jones  had 
thought  of  it.  Also,  after  one  brief  day  in  Seattle, 
Burmah  Jones  had  shipped  the  Colonel  and  Hub- 
bard, together  with  the  two  timber-men,  some  cots,  a 
tent,  and  a  few  other  accessories,  to  Squaw  Point. 

"Hubbard's  all  right  for  just  about  one  day  where 
the  anheuser  bush  grows,"  he  had  said  to  himself, 
"and  the  Colonel's  going  to  talk  too  much  if  he's 
where  they  can  get  at  him.  Besides,  the  old  feller 
might  kick  if  he  knew  what  I'm  going  to  do  to  this 
town  of  Seattle." 

And,  doubtless,  he  spoke  the  truth ;  for  within  two 
days  Seattle  was  bill-boarded  with  glaring  lies  con- 
cerning Squaw  Point,  the  newspapers  had  full  ad- 
vertisements, mysterious  interviews  were  being  pub- 
lished, the  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  beginning  to 
act,  and,  through  the  aid  of  an  old  and  trusted  accom- 
plice in  New  York,  William  Burmah  had  sent  a  num- 
ber of  telegrams  to  the  Seattle  papers,  signed  by 
various  men  supposed  to  be  directors  of  banks  and 
other  financial  institutions.     Usually  these  asked  for 

82 


THE  BOOMERS.  88 

information  relative  to  Squaw  Point,  and  sometimes 
they  explained  that  it  was  rumored  on  the  Street 
that  this  was  to  be  the  terminus  of  a  great  Trans- 
continental railway.  Burmah  himself  was  as  in- 
constant and  lively  in  his  movements  as  a  certain 
insect  pest  that  hops.  Only,  his  hop  consisted  of 
a  lively  waddle,  albeit  his  sting  was  just  as  sure. 

But,  on  this  morning,  the  Colonel,  in  a  flutter  of 
excitement,  watched  the  laying  of  the  last  pole  for 
a  landing-place  at  Squaw  Point,  and  spoke,  between 
times,  to  Lester,  the  calm,  humorous-eyed  young 
athlete,  who  wanted  a  rest,  and  seemed  to  have 
nothing  in  the  world  to  do  save  fish  and  hunt. 

"Mister  Lester,  Sir,"  the  Colonel  was  saying,  at 
the  minute  the  last  spike  was  being  driven,  "I've 
given  you  much  of  my  confidence,  as  a  kindred 
spirit,  and  as  a  much  older  man  speaking  to  a 
younger  one.  It's  the  easiest  matter  in  the  world 
for  a  gentleman  to  achieve  financial  success.  It  re- 
quires nothing  more  than  thought  and  industry,  Sir. 
The  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  it  must  spe- 
cialize. That  is  the  secret,  my  young  friend.  Spe- 
cialize! Look  at  me,  Sir.  Before  I  started  out 
to  make  my  fortune,  I  specialized.  I  read,  I  studied 
finance.  I  learned  how  other  masters  of  finance 
had  conducted  themselves.  Sir.  It  is  to  that  prep- 
aration I  owe  my  success ! 

"  'Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us,  we  can  make 

our  lives  sublime, 
"  'And,  departing,  leave  behind  us  footprints  in 

the  sands  of  time.'  " 


84  THE  BOOMERS. 

He  quoted  in  his  mellifluous  voice,  standing  there 
with  one  hand  on  his  heart,  and  his  eyes  upraised, 
and  at  the  "Footprints  in  the  sands  of  time,"  he 
opened  his  graceful  fingers,  and  looked  down  at  the 
beach,  and  seemed  writing  footprints  with  them, 
much  to  Lester's  quiet  amusement. 

"As  soon,"  said  the  Colonel,  "as  my  charming 
daughter.  Miss  Arabella,  arrives  with  our  modest 
possessions,  including  my  library,  I  shall  take  plea- 
sure. Mister  Lester,  in  lending  you  some  of  those 
masterpieces  regarding  finance,  provided  that  you 
are  at  all  thinking  of  specializing  in  that  line." 

"I  should  be  delighted.  Colonel  Hatch,"  drily 
assented  Lester,  who,  in  so  far  as  any  one  could 
see,  had  no  idea  of  ever  doing  more  than  such 
dawdling  as  the  means  of  a  very  modest  man  might 
permit.  "But  about  this  city,  Colonel,  do  I  under- 
stand that  to-day  is  the  great  day  when  the  ex- 
cursionists are  to  come?" 

"To-day  is  the  day,"  solemnly  asserted  the  Colonel. 

Even  as  he  spoke,  they  heard,  in  the  distance,  the 
sound  of  a  steamer's  whistle,  and  the  subdued  puffing 
of  her  exhaust.  The  Colonel  was  transfixed  with 
excitement,  as  he  strained  his  eyes  looking  down  the 
long,  broad,  placid  reach  of  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful spots  in  the  world.  Everything  seemed  waiting 
— the  hills,  the  forests  that  projected  out  to  the 
water's  edge  in  friendly  solicitude,  the  indented 
banks,  the  whole  glorious  panorama,  just  waiting 
for  this,  the  actual  starting  of  Squaw  Point.  A 
smudge  appeared  around  a  long  point  of  land, 
forest-clad,  which  concealed  the  next  stretch  of  the 


THE  BOOMERS.  85 

sound.  The  exhaust  was  plainer  now.  It  steadily 
increased  in  volume.  Suddenly,  around  the  curving 
point,  a  half-mile  distant,  the  bow  of  a  white  sound 
steamer  shoved  itself,  enlarged,  and,  gay  with  bunt- 
ing and  flags  and  signs,  headed  into  the  placid  bay. 
A  cracked  and  wheezy  brass  band  suddenly  broke  it- 
self into  pieces  playing,  "My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee," 
and  the  watchers  saw  that  the  boat's  decks  were 
black  with  folk  who  had  taken  advantage  of  this 
unprecedented  opportunity  for  a  free  ride  and 
pleasant  outing-  Standing  stodgily  on  the  steamer's 
bridge  beside  the  captain,  was  the  unmistakable 
figure  of  Burmah  Jones,  this  time  with  his  silk  hat  on 
the  extreme  rear  of  his  head.  He  smoked  a  full- 
length  cigar,  and,  as  the  boat  approached,  the 
Colonel  observed,  with  much  approval,  that  Bur- 
mah had  donned  a  frock-coat  for  the  occasion.  The 
boat  came  to  the  extemporized  landing,  and,  as  the 
Colonel  rushed  down  to  meet  it,  he  was  nearly  knocked 
from  his  feet  by  a  bundle  thrown  ashore.  The 
gang-plank  did  not  come  out  immediately,  but  two 
or  three  men  leaped  the  intervening  space,  and  began 
receiving  other  packages  and  mysterious  boxes. 
These  bundles  were  seized  upon  and  carried  away, 
and  the  Colonel  was  informed  that  this  group  of 
men  were  professional  clam-bakers,  who  had  been 
hired  to  go  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  there  make 
a  spread. 

"Most     amazing!"     said     the     Colonel.       "Most 
amazing,  what  my  friend  Jones  does  think  up !" 

But  he  had  small  time  for  reflection,  for  now  the 
gang-plank  was  out,  and  down  it  poured  a  laughing, 


86  THE  BOOMERS. 

elated  crowd  of  excursionists.  Burmah  Jones  from 
his  vantage  point  watched  them  speculatively,  much 
as  a  nice'  fat  lion  might  watch  a  flock  of  lambs,  good- 
naturedly  marking  and  selecting  those  he  proposed 
to  devour.  At  length  he  disembarked,  carrying  a 
bundle  under  his  arm.  He  accepted  the  Colonel's 
hand  and  congratulations. 

"Some  of  them.  Sir,  look  like  representative 
citizens,"  crooned  the  Colonel. 

"And  the  rest  like  a  bunch  of  yeggmen,"  added 
Burmah.  But  he  failed  to  state  to  the  Colonel  that, 
for  a  small  stipend,  this  same  bunch  of  yeggmen, 
properly  trained,  were  to  be  the  "Boosters"  for  the 
bidding,  and  that  he  had  worked  with  them  over 
night,  teaching  them  "stop  and  start"  signals.  He 
was  a  thorough  believer  in  orgiinization. 

"Where's  Hubbard?"  he  demanded,  tersely. 

The  Colonel's  face  sobered,  and  he  looked  ag- 
grieved. 

"That  young  man.  Sir,  is  wasting  his  time  at  this 
moment,  making  water-color  sketches  of  what  this 
city's  to  look  like;  and  what's  more,  he  says  you 
told  him  to." 

Burmah  disarmed  this  resentment  with  a  laugh. 

"Sure  I  did!"  he  said,  unblushingly.  "You  see. 
Colonel,  folks  like  to  know  how  it's  possible  for 
things  to  look.  Besides,  you  see,  it  might  look  that 
way  after  all,  if  you  just  turn  your  mind  to  it-  You 
don't  suppose  old  Pullman  laid  out  his  town  with- 
out some  plans,  do  you?  That  great  industrial  city 
where  they  make  the  fancy  cars?     Why,  I  should 


THE  BOOMERS.  87 

say  not!  I  was  sure  that's  just  what  you'd  want 
Hubbard  to  do — make  plans!" 

"And  so  I  did,"  unblushingly  assented  the  Colonel, 
taking  back  tracks  with  agility.  "The  very  minute 
he  told  me  what  he  was  doing,  I  let  him  alone.  Of 
course,  we  have  to  have  visible  suggestions." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  "I'd  better  go  over  to  his 
tent,  and  see  how  he's  comin'  on." 

And  he  hurried  away,  leaving  the  Colonel  feeling 
as  lonesome  and  helpless,  for  the  moment,  as  it  was 
possible  to  be.  At  the  tent  that  had  been  made 
"Engineer's  Headquarters,"  Burmah  stopped,  took 
off  his  coat,  shouted,  "Come  out  here,  Hubbard,"  and 
unrolled  his  bundle.  It  proved  to  contain  a  big 
cloth  banner,  which,  fifteen  minutes  later,  was 
stretched  on  poles  beside  the  tent,  where  any  one 
could  read,  in  red,  "Engineer's  Headquarters." 

Burmah  spared  just  one  minute  to  look  at  the 
partially  completed  sketches,  told  Hubbard  not  to 
be  so  careful,  and  to  "hustle  them  to  a  finish,"  and 
pattered  off  up  the  hillside.  Already,  under  the 
shade  of  a  clump  of  fine  old  trees,  the  clam-bakers 
were  at  work.  A  huge  vat  had  been  planted  on 
stones.  Into  it  had  gone  a  heavy  layer  of  clams, 
and  now  on  top  of  this,  the  chef,  in  white  apron 
and  cap,  was  placing  the  white  muslin  sacks  con- 
taining chickens  and  sweet  potatoes,  lobsters  and 
sweet  corn,  while  a  man  fed  the  fire  beneath.  At  a 
little  distance  away,  other  adepts  were  adjusting 
collapsible  tables,  and  making  benches.  Another  man 
was  sorting  cutlery  and  plates,  and  still  another 
heaped  great  loaves  of  bread  on  a  table,  preparatory 


88  THE  BOOMERS. 

to  slicing  them.  They  worked,  Burinah  noted,  with 
the  quick  perfection  of  experience  and  training,  and 
he  approved.  The  sounds  of  a  hammer  called  him, 
and  he  hurried  across  to  another  part  of  the  knoll, 
where  men  were  making  a  platform,  and  he  admon- 
ished them  to  haste.  Two  boys  with  bundles  of  flags 
under  their  arms  were  going  over  the  surveyed 
ground,  planting  a  red  flag  beside  each  stake,  and 
in  the  center  of  each  lot  a  placard  bearing  a  number. 
Burmah  sent  one  of  them  hurriedly  down  the  hill  to 
get  a  plat  from  Hubbard,  and'  when  the  boy  re- 
turned, mounted  the  half-constructed  platform,  and 
tacked  up  a  huge,  crude  drawing,  showing  "Main 
Street."  This  was  so  large  that  it  could  be  seen 
from  many  yards'  distance.  He  climbed  down  from 
the  platform,  and  ordered  that  each  member  of  the 
little  band  should  be  given  a  bottle  of  claret,  and 
thereby  gained  the  musicians'  approval.  He  stop- 
ped long  enough  to  cut  a  staff  for  a  decrepit  old 
gentleman,  who  was  wandering  aimlessly  around,  and 
won  that  gentleman's  regard.  He  laughed,  joked, 
told  stories,  or  discussed  the  weather,  with  different 
men  he  met.  He  was  ubiquitous;  he  was  entertain- 
ing. He  radiated  good  will,  and  made  friends  of 
every  man  he  met.  He  would  have  attempted  back  and 
fore  somersaults  if  he  had  thought,  for  an  instant, 
that  they  would  have  put  any  one  in  a  good  humor. 
He  was  the  king  of  blandishments.  Sweat  streamed 
from  his  face,  and  his  coat  was  on  his  arm,  his  collar 
wilted,  a  handkerchief  thrust  into  his  neckband,  and 
his  patent-leather  shoes  were  white  with  mountain 
dust. 


THE  BOOMERS.  89 

He  sent  a  boy  for  the  Colonel,  also  to  Hubbard, 
with  instructions  to  the  latter  that,  finished  or  not, 
the  sketch  of  the  proposed  city  must  be   brought 
along.     He  repaired  to  a  place  where  his  own  be- 
longings   had   been    stacked,,   and   pulled   out   long 
cylindrical   rolls,   and   scanned   them   while   waiting 
for  the  cook's  announcement.     And  it  was  Burmah 
Jones,  indefatigable,  who  got  the  chef's  signal  that 
the  meal  was  prepared,  and  then  ordered  the  cor- 
netist  of  the  band  to  blow  "Assembly"  as  a  bugle 
call  until  all  the  excursionists  were  seated.     He  took 
no   time   to   eat   of  that   savory   mess,   but  bustled 
around  to  see  that  the  food  was  served,  and  that  no 
man's   glass    should   be   left   for   an   instant   empty. 
Claret,  the  heaviest  he  had  been  able  to  buy,  was 
to  flow  like  water.     "Warm  'em  up!"   might  have 
been  his  motto. 

And,  at  just  the  right  moment,  he  assembled  the 
band  in  front  of  the  completed  auctioneer's  plat- 
form, and  it  wheezed  gaily  into  that  magic  tune, 
"A  Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town  To-night,"  while  he 
made  the  Colonel  and  Hubbard  mount  the  rostrum 
and  take  chairs.  His  speech  was  a  marvel  of  brevity, 
for  he  shrewdly  calculated  that  the  effects  of  that 
dreadful  claret,  mixed  with  hot  clams,  would  wear 
away  in  less  than  an  hour.  The  Colonel  gasped 
when  Burmah  explained,  audaciously,  that  the  At- 
lantic and  Oriental  Railway  wanted  the  good  will  of 
the  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  knew  that  such 
friendliness  could  not  be  obtained  by  "hoggin'  it  all." 
That  was  why  this  group  of  representative  citizens 
assembled  on  this  glorious  day  were  to  have  given 


90  THE  BOOMERS. 

them  the  chance  of  a  life-time.  He  called  attention 
to  the  sketch  made  by  the  "Honorable"  Frederick 
Hubbard,  the  world-renowned  and  unequaled  ex- 
ponent of  the  "City  Beautiful,"  who,  at  an  enormous 
expense,  had  been  employed  to  make  this  the  model 
city  of  the  universe.  Mr.  Hubbard  would  now  be 
introduced,  and  expound  his  theories  of  what  made 
a  "City  Beautiful." 

And  Mr.  Hubbard,  who,  after  a  long  drought,  had 
been  led  to  the  spring  in  the  desert,  ambled  to  the 
front  of  the  stage,  broke  into  words  at  this  rare 
opportunity,  and  began  to  expound  at  the  rate  of 
a  mile  a  minute.  He  was  like  a  moving  picture 
film,  and  Burmah  the  man  who  turned  the  crank; 
for,  when  the  latter  thought  time  enough  had  been 
used  to  make  an  impression,  he  chopped  the  film  off, 
and  jocosely  interrupted. 

The  Colonel  was  introduced. 

"Tell  'em  all  about  Arabella  and  Lee,  and  how 
you  want  to  make  this  place  a  credit  to  Chattanoogy, 
Colonel,"  whispered  Burmah. 

And  the  Colonel  did!  Burmah  envied  him  that 
rare  gift  of  simultaneously  dreaming  and  vocalizing. 
He  wondered  how  much  the  crowd  would  stand.  He 
saw  with  delight  that  this  fine,  simple  old  man 
was  a  big  drawing  card,  and  let  him  go  the  limit. 

"Out  yonder,  gentlemen,"  the  Colonel  was  saying 
in  his  peroration'  "will  be  the  city  park.  Its  grassy 
lawns  shall  be  covered  with  little  children,  those 
flowers  of  God's  garden,  ornamenting  and  decorating 
its  borders.  'Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,* 
said  the  Greatest  Being  that  ever  lived  in  human 


THE  BOOMERS.  91 

form.  They  shall  come  to  this  city  of  ours !  It  shall 
be  a  city  of  homes,  where  these  little  ones  may  grow 
up  under  the  flag  of  our  country,  the  most  noble 
flag  that  waves  over  the  land  of  a  free  people. 
Down  below  us  great  ships  of  the  sea  shall  come 
in,  dock  at  magnificent  wharves,  and  take  on  the 
golden  grain  that  has  blossomed  and  ripened  under 
heaven's  kindly  winds  on  the  far-flung  plains. 
Loaded  with  spices  and  myrrh,  and  strange  per- 
fumes from  the  East,  they  shall  enter,  bearing  their 
fragrance  to  a  great  railway  terminus,  and,  re- 
loaded with  the  sweet-smelling  grain,  they  shall  de- 
part hungrily,  hoping  to  come  back  again  and  see 
the  headland  of  Squaw  Point  rising  up  like  a  jewel 
in  the  crown  of  Puget  Sound.  There  will  be  school- 
houses,  and  churches,  and  places  of  amusement,  and 
stately  dwellings,  and  paved  streets,  and  electric 
lights  shining  through  the  calm  and  peaceful  nights, 
where  now  you  stand.  Some  years  ago,  gentlemen, 
I  had  no  dreams  of  finance." 

He  paused  impressively,  and  William  Burmah  be- 
hind him  fidgeted  a  trifle,  and  cocked  his  ears  for- 
ward. 

"Old  cuss  is  a-goin'  too  far,"  he  thought.  "He's 
about  due  for  the  bell." 

"I  found  myself  and  my  beautiful  daughter.  Miss 
Arabella  Hatch,  by  reverses  of  fortune,  reduced  to 
poverty,"  the  Colonel  was  going  on  in  a  trembling 
voice  that  betrayed  a  great  hunger  for  sympathy, 
and  a  proud  recountal  of  successes.  I  had  always 
insisted  that  any  gentleman,  did  he  but  turn  his  at- 
tention to  commercial  pursuits,  could  make  money. 


92  THE  BOOMERS. 

Now  I'm  asking  you  to  take  a  chance  with  me.  1 
don't  know,  of  course,  whether  the  Atlantic  ana 
Oriental  is " 

He  halted,  for  there  came  a  violent  jerk  of  his 
coat-tail,  and,  as  he  looked  around  to  discover  the 
cause,  he  saw  Burmah  Jones  crowding  in  front  of 
him.  He  was  indignant,  but  helpless.  He  had  mapped 
out  in  his  mind  one  of  those  flowery  periods  such  as 
had  won  him  applause  on  many  public  occasions  in 
that  far-distant  South,  and  down  there  nobody  ever 
dared  jerk  his  coat-tails.  Bewildered,  he  subsided, 
even  as  Burmah  Jones,  in  his  incisive,  raucous  voice 
said: 

"Gentlemen,  my  respected  friend,  Colonel  Hatch, 
has  told  you  but  a  part  of  it;  but  time  is  gettin' 
short,  and  we  will  now  auction  off  a  few  of  these  lots. 
I  ain't  got  time  to  even  explain  the  plans  for  the 
new  depot,  or  the  round-house,  or  the  first  public 
school,  or  the  library ;  but,  so's  you'll  know  we  mean 
business,  here  they  are !" 

The  Colonel  staggered  back  into  his  chair-  and 
wiped  his  face  with  his  handkerchief.  He  saw  that 
from  some  unexpected  place  Burmah  Jones  had  un- 
rolled a  lot  of  drawings,  which  he  now  hastily  ex- 
hibited. Nor  did  he  dream  that  from  the  front  view 
they  were  so  magnificent.  Why  should  they  not  be, 
inasmuch  as  they  were  drawings  borrowed  from 
architect's  offices  under  the  pretext  of  examination, 
drawings  that  covered  everything  from  competitive 
designs  for  a  treasury  building  at  Washington,  a  new 
wing  for  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  New  York,  a 
study  of  the  Metropolitan  Tower,  to  a  residence  for 


THE  BOOMERS.  98 

a  newly  made  millionaire  Senator  from  Montana? 
The  Colonel  wondered  where  Hubbard  had  got  time 
to  draw  them,  and  poor  Hubbard,  author  of  the  "City 
Beautiful,"  sustained  equal  curiosity.  But,  after  be- 
ing unrolled  and  displayed  for  the  briefest  time,  they 
were  again  carefully  rolled,  and  thrust  back  into  the 
tin  case. 

"Can  I  look  at  those?"  whispered  Hubbard  to 
Burmah. 

"No,  you  can't,"  snapped  Burmah  in  reply.  "Let 
you  see  'em  later,  maybe,"  and  again  he  faced  his 
audience.  Well  he  knew  that  the  psychological 
moment  was  coming.  He  seized  a  pointer'  and 
pointed  at  Lot  number  One,  on  Main  Street,  called 
attention  to  its  merits  of  situation,  lifted  his  hand 
to  his  cheek  as  if  some  wandering  insect  had  annoyed 
him,  and  began.  The  hand  to  the  cheek  was  the  signal 
to  the  boosters,  scattered  here  and  there,  to  start  the 
price  good  and  high.  They  did.  And  up  on  the 
stand  stood  that  Napoleonic  little  fat  man,  watching 
each  bidder,  calculating  with  lightning-like  rapidity 
and  absolute  accuracy  just  how  high  he  dared  let 
the  bidding  go.  Sweat  streamed  from  him.  First  he 
doffed  his  coat,  then  his  vest,  and  last  of  all  slipped 
his  suspenders  down.  The  sweat  continued  relent- 
lessly, until  the  gay  silk  shirt  he  wore  was  wet 
through,  and  his  cherubic  face  began  to  show  the 
strain.  He  was  just  selling  the  lots  fronting,  "On 
the  magnificent  public  library  which  we  propose  to 
build  here,  Gentlemen,  where  you  see  it  indicated  on 
the  map,"  when  Lester,  always  deliberate,  always  im- 
perturbable, arrived  on  the  scene,  heard  men  bidding 


94  THE  BOOMERS. 

vociferously  for  the  favored  spot,  and  had  to  retire 
behind  a  tree  to  conceal  his  laughter. 

"By  Jove !"  he  said,  addressing  Skaggs,  who  with 
hands  in  pockets,  and  tired  from  a  day's  work  under 
such  a  strenuous  driver  as  Jones,  leaned  against  the 
nearest  tree,  "it  looks  to  me  as  if  I'd  missed  quite  a 
lot  of  fun." 

"Fish  bitin'?"  Hank  asked,  without  shifting  his 
tired  frame. 

"Bully!" 

"Wish  I'd  a-fished  instead  of  takin'  this  job. 
Hang  that-there  little  fat  feller!  He's  a  regular 
heller  for  work,  he  is." 

"Looks  like  it,"  cheerfully  grinned  Lester,  sur- 
veying the  drenched  appearance  of  the  auctioneer. 
"He  seemed  rather  disappointed  because  I  didn't 
want  to  do  a  day's  work  for  him.  He  offered  me 
two  dollars." 

The  last  lot  was  being  sold,  and  the  bidding  had 
reached  a  climax  in  that  splendid  mob  fury  which  pre- 
vails where  such  a  sale  is  a  success.  Many  a  man, 
carried  away  by  that  subtle  current  in  the  air,  was 
bidding  his  last  dollar.  In  a  perfect  frenzy,  the 
lot  was  sold,  and  Burmah  Jones  climbed  down,  and 
went  to  the  band,  which  at  intervals  had  played  while 
men  were  examining  lots. 

"Turn  it  loose,"  Burmah  said. 

It  did,  tearing  to  shreds  that  fine  old  anthem, 
"When  a  Reuben  Comes  to  Town,  He  is  Sure  to  be 
Done  Brown."  Burmah  started  to  leave,  and  then, 
appearing  to  notice  the  Colonel  for  the  first  time 
since  the  sale  began,  wondered  if  he  had  not  better 


THE  BOOMERS.  95 

resort  to  diplomacy  again.  The  Colonel  might  get 
into  a  dudgeon  about  something.  Quick  as  a  flash, 
his  mind  saw  the  way.  He  climbed  to  his  perch,  and 
waved  his  arms  up  and  down  at  the  band,  bringing 
it  to  a  scattering  stop,  the  tuba  and  the  clarionet 
being  the  last  to  yield. 

"Gentlemen!  Gentlemen!"  shouted  Burmah. 
"Just  a  moment  more,  please." 

The  crowd,  which  had  begun  to  shift  and  move, 
halted  to  catch  his  words. 

"We  are  all  feller  citizens  now,"  said  Burmah, 
genially  taking  them  into  his  confidence  and  society. 
"We  are  goin'  to  make  this  a  great  city.  The  name 
of  Squaw  Point  is  inappropriate  for  what  is  to  be 
the  model  city  of  the  West.  I  suggest  that  we  re- 
name it.  I  suggest  that  we  name  it  in  honor  of 
that  distinguished  Southern  gentleman  who  fought 
through  the  war  with  valor,  and  who  discovered  this 
beautiful  spot.  That  peerless  leader,  who,  like  the 
Moses  of  old,  led  a  bunch  of  Israelites  to  New  York. 
Hold  on — I  mean  the  promised  land.  Let  us  call 
our  city — Port  Hatch!" 

He  gave  a  signal  to  the  boosters,  who,  knowing 
that  something  was  expected  of  them,  started  a  wild 
cheer.  Others,  not  caring  a  continental  what  name  the 
embryo  town  had,  joined  in.  The  Colonel  was  on  his 
feet,  prouder  than  any  king  being  called  to  a  throne, 
smiling  and  trying  to  make  himself  heard.  Burmah 
Jones  with  hands  cupped  to  his  mouth,  was  yelling  to 
the  leader  of  the  band  to  play  "Dixie,"  and  that 
gentlemanly  and  tired  Teuton  misunderstood,  and 
with  his  cornet  to  his  lips  and  his  cheeks  distended, 
started,  "See  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes,"  while 


96  THE  BOOMERS. 

behind  the  tree  Lester,  the  only  man  besides  Jones  to 
see  the  humor  of  the  situation,  doubled  over  with 
mirth. 

Burmah  stopped  the  band  and  the  cheering,  and 
the  good-humored  crowd  wondered  what  was  coming 
next.  The  Colonel,  almost  speechless  with  emotion, 
and  dim-eyed,  made  them  a  deep  bow. 

"Gentlemen,  and  fellow  citizens,"  he  said,  "from 
the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  thank  you  for  the  high 
honor  you  have  done  us.  There  has  never  been  a 
Hatch,  my  friends,  who  was  not  a  gentleman.  It  is 
a  proud  name  in  that  far  land  whence  I  came,  with 
my  loins  girded  up  for  the  making  of  this,  the  great- 
est endeavor  of  my  life." 

He  paused,  as  if  something  had  clutched  his  heart. 
The  laugh  died  on  Lester's  lips,  and  he  saw  that 
others  around  him  were  affected  and  wondering. 
Some  cadence  of  the  Colonel's  voice,  some  underlying 
suggestion,  not  in  words,  revealed  that  he  was  telling 
the  truth,  and,  also,  that  this  was  his  great  fight. 

"I  have  a  daughter,  Men,  back  down  there  in  what 
we  who  fought  for  it  call  God's  land.  She  will  be 
proud  to  know  that  her  old  father  has  been  honored 
by  having  a  new  town  named  after  him.  And,  stand- 
ing here  to  thank  you  all,  I  give  you  my  word,  the 
unbreakable  word  of  a  gentleman  and  a  Hatch,  that 
I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  make  this  town  an  honor  to  my 
family  name !" 

He  sat  down,  and  this  time  the  band-master,  exer- 
cising his  own  judgment,  broke  into  the  Marseillaise. 
To  the  Colonel,  it  was  like  a  trumpet  blaring  the  be- 
ginning of  a  battle.     Proud,  happy,  homesick  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  97 

lonesome,  he  got  up  to  follow  the  crowd  toward  the 
landing,  and,  as  he  did  so,  said: 

**Lord!     I  wish  Arabella  could  have  been  here!" 

But  Burmah  Jones  was  scowling  and  frowning,  and 
chewing  a  cigar  again,  that  sign  of  mental  unrest. 
He  nearly  forgot  to  instruct  the  Colonel  and  Hub- 
bard what  to  do,  until  he  saw  them  on  the  wharf. 

"Hubbard,"  he  said,  tersely,  "you  stay  here,  and 
keep  workin'  until  you  hear  from  me,  which  may  be 
within  a  couple  of  days.  And  you.  Colonel,  I  think 
you  had  better  come  down  to  Seattle  with  me." 

It  did  seem  as  if  Burmah  feared  that  some  of  those 
who  had  bought  land  might  get  an  opportunity  to 
talk  with  the  Colonel,  and  that  the  Colonel  might  say 
something  to  upset  things,  for  on  the  whole  home- 
ward trip,  while  men  began  to  come  to  their  senses, 
he  "rode  herd"  over  the  Colonel,  and  kept  him  from 
saying  much  of  anything  to  any  one. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

THE    KNAVE    PLUNGES    DEEPER. 

The  soul  of  William  Burmah  Jones  was  troubled 
for  a  strange  reason — a  most  unusual  reason  for  a 
soul  that  so  rarelj  was  troubled  by  anything  like 
conscience.  And  that  reason  was  due  to  his  tactical 
blunder  in  naming  Squaw  Point,  Port  Hatch;  for 
up  to  that  time  the  Colonel  had  not  been  badly  com- 
promised. As  it  was,  the  Colonel  had  basked  in  de- 
lightful ignorance,  and  taken  the  whole  affair 
seriously. 

"He's  such  a  foolish  old  feller,"  said  Burmah  to 
himself,  walking  up  and  down  his  room,  preparatory 
to  dining  with  the  Colonel,  "that,  if  I  leave  him  alone 
here,  they'll  tear  him  to  pieces  when  they  get  wise. 
They'll  crucify  him  higher'n  Ham-and.  And  I 
dassen't  go  to  him,  and  tell  him  to  beat  it  with  me! 
Humph !  The  old  cuss'd  probably  drag  a  boss  pistol 
out  of  his  clothes  somewhere,  and  fill  me  with  lead. 
Him  and  his  Arabella !  Wish  to  the  Highrasticutum 
of  Swat  I'd  never  heard  of  either  of  'em,  because — 
hang  it  all! — I  like  the  old  cuss!" 

Later  in  the  evening,  it  was  hard  to  avoid  the 
infection  of  the  Colonel's  great  joy.  It  was  hard  to 
face  his  liberality.  Never  a  word  of  complaint  did 
he  make  when  he  learned  that  William  Burmah  Jones' 
share  of  the  day's  sales  amounted  to  a  little  more 
than  ten  thousand  dollars.    He  beamed  on  Burmah. 


THE  BOOMERS.  99 

He  patronized  him.  For  the  first  time  he  called  him 
Burmah,  a  certain  sign  that  he  had  accepted  him  into 
his  full  confidence  and  warmest  friendship. 

"Burmah,  my  boy,"  he  said,  "you  are  a  sure- 
enough  able  lieutenant  and  helper!  You  have  as- 
sisted me  throughout  my  enterprise  in  a  most  as- 
tounding manner.  Sir.  If  you  just  stick  by  the  colors, 
I'll  lend  you  my  financial  judgment,  and  you,  also, 
shall  be  rich.  Most  astounding,  when  you  come  to 
think  of  it,  how  nobly  we've  started  this  great  work ! 
I  just  sent  a  wire  to  Miss  Arabella,  urging  her  to 
come  at  once,  and  telling  her  I'd  got  a  start  for  my 
fortune.  It  cost  me  'most  fourteen  dollars.  I  knew 
she'd  be  right  happy!" 

He  leaned  back,  and  blew  a  cloud  of  smoke  at  the 
ceiling,  and  rolled  his  expensive  cigar  between  his 
white  old  fingers,  and  stroked  his  goatee,  and  looked 
the  picture  of  prosperity.  Burmah  scowled  at  him, 
knowing  that  another  awkward  and  compromising 
step  had  been  taken,  the  bringing  of  Arabella  to  the 
scene  of  trouble. 

"Poor  little  kiddie!"  he  thought.  "So  she's  run 
into  it,  too,  eh?  Maybe  they'll  only  tar  and  feather 
Arabella!" 

"And,  by  the  way,  Burmah,  while  you  were  gone, 
fixing-up  for  dinner,"  the  Colonel  said,  "I  arranged 
for  a  lumber-  and  brick-  and  coal-yard  up  there  at 
Port  Hatch." 

Burmah  "came  to"  with  a  jump,  and  wondered 
what  other  misfortune  was  due. 

"There  was  a  man  whose  brother  bought  three 
lots  up  there  to-day.     Maybe  you  recall  him.     Todd 


100  THE  BOOMERS. 

was  his  name,  tall,  rather  lean,  not  to  say  thin,  man, 
who  wore  spectacles,  and  seemed  a  right-nice  man. 
Just  came  West  from  Iowa,  he  told  me,  where  he 
sold  out  a  farm.  Should  make  a  good  citizen,  I 
take  it,  this  Mister  Todd." 

"But  about  this  brother  of  his?"  insisted  Burmah. 

"His  name  is  Todd,  too.    He's  a  nice  man." 

"Yes,  Colonel,  I  see  all  that ;  but  you  haven't  told 
me  about  this  lumber  business." 

"Why,  you  see,"  said  the  Colonel,  "he  came  to 
buy  land  for  a  lumber-  and  coal-  and  brick-yard. 
Said  he  couldn't  lose  any  time,  because  he  wanted  to 
ship  a  stock  up  there  to-morrow,  so  he  could  be  on 
hand  when  they  start  to  build.  He  was  such  a  fine 
sort  of  a  man  that  I  could  see  what  a  fine  citizen  he 
would  make.  Perfectly  representative.  Sir.  So  I 
just  naturally  gave  him  land  for  his  yards,  and  a 
place  for  a  wharf.  He  said  he  had  to  be  located  on 
tide  water,  so's  his  ships  could  unload.  His  brother 
is  going  to  start  a  hardware  store,  right  away,  on 
one  of  those  lots  of  his." 

Burmah  leaned  back,  and  groaned. 

"You  gave  this  feller,  Todd,  enough  of  the  water- 
front for  a  wharf  and  a  lumber-yard,  you  say? 
For  nothing?  Why,  Colonel,  if  he  came  to  buy,  why 
didn't  you  sell  it  to  him?  Why  didn't  you  get  his 
money?  You  can't  make  nothin'  by  givin'  land 
away !" 

"By  Jingoes  !"  said  the  Colonel.  "That's  an  idea  I 
haven't  given  enough  attention  to  yet !  I  didn't  think 
about  that  at  the  time.  He  was  such  a  nice  man, 
this  Mister  Todd,  that  I  sort  of  wanted  him  for  a 


THE  BOOMERS.  101 

neighbor.  He's  got  four  children,  and  he's  a 
widower.  He  looked  right  sad,  yihe.n  ];?etto],d  me  aboait 
losing  his  wife.     And  she's  bec^  (Je^d  ,el^yen  jears." 

"Are  you  sure,"  said  Burma h,'. 'j'tliat*  y»it''didiiit' 
give  him  a  lot  up  on  the  hill,  too?" 

"No,  Sir,"  said  the  Colonel,  cheerfully,  "I  didn't. 
I  just  mentioned  that  to  him,  and  told  him  that,  if 
he'd  wait  till  we  got  our  surveys  extended,  maybe 
he'd  find  a  place  up  there  that  he'd  like  to  have. 
But  he  couldn't  wait.    He  wants  to  start  right  in." 

Burmah  was  too  tired  to  argue,  too  much  annoyed 
to  convince  the  Colonel  of  anything,  if  to  do  so 
required  words.  His  voice  was  hoarse  from  his  day's 
work,  and  his  throat  hurt,  and  he  croaked  instead 
of  enunciated.  He  jerked  his  chair  over  to  the  table 
in  the  room,  and  began  his  accounting. 

"Lot  One  brought  three,  fifty;  and  that's  yours. 
Lot  Two  brought  four  hundred  flat,  and  that's  mine." 

And  so  on,  while  the  Colonel,  delighted,  listened 
and  pretended  keen  attention  and  great  business 
closeness.  Burmah  got  up  when  his  accounting  was 
finished,  and  said,  desperately : 

"I'm.  tired,  and  I'm  goin'  home.  But,  Colonel,  for 
God's  sake  don't  give  away  the  rest  of  it,  and  the 
money  and  the  cheques  I've  just  handed  you  before 
I  can  get  here  in  the  mornin'.  Don't  give  away  any 
more  land!" 

With  which  emphatic,  despairing  injunction,  he 
clapped  his  silk  hat  on  his  head,  and  hurried  away. 
Tired  as  he  was,  he  did  not  go  to  sleep  when  he 
reached  the  sumptuous  apartment  he  had  taken  in 
the  hotel.     He  walked   up   and  down,   chewing  his 


102  THE  BOOMERS. 

cigar,  and  pausing  now  and  then  to  kick  the  waste- 
Basket  beside  tlie  stenographer's  desk,  as  if  such 
physical  action  were  a  safety-valve  for  his  perturba- 
tion:!. 'He  could  not  conceive  of  such  a  man  as  the 
Colonel. 

"Why,  if  any  one  had  told  me  about  him  a  month 
ago,"  he  said  to  himself,  savagely,  "I'd  have  thought 
the  man  was  a  liar,  or  just  out  of  a  booze  sanatorium. 
I  can't  hold  on,  and  I  can't  let  go!  If  I  told  the 
Colonel  it  was  all  a  bunk,  he'd  first  kill  me,  and  then 
distribute  that  money  back  where  it  came  from  while 
waitin'  in  his  cell  for  trial.  If  I  don't  tell  him,  he's 
goin'  ri^ht  ahead  to  make  an  ass  of  himself." 

Carefully  he  went  over  all  the  statements  he  had 
issued,  all  the  excitement  he  had  worked  up,  and,  also, 
what  chances  for  himself  there  were  if  he  continued 
with  the  game. 

"The  A.  and  O.  ain't  denied  nothin'  yet,"  he 
thought,  "and  they've  had  time.  Probably  they  don't 
pay  no  attention  to  such  things.  Maybe  they  ain't 
even  thinkin'  of  coming  to  the  Coast.  Maybe  it's 
nothing  but  a  plain  stock-jobbin'  deal  to  sell  bonds, 
or  somethin',  and  all  this  helps  'em." 

He  paused  directly  in  front  of  the  mirror  with  his 
eyes  widely  opened,  and  his  lips  set  grimly. 

"By  Gad!  That's  it!"  he  declared.  "Why  not.? 
I  can  take  a  chance!  The  Colonel  would  give  me  a 
whole  subdivision,  if  I  asked  him  for  it.  This  fool, 
Todd,  or  whatever  his  name  is,  is  goin'  to  ship  some 
lumber  and  brick  and  stuff  up  there,  and  his  brother, 
that  scraggly-necked  farmer,  is  a-goin'  to  open  a 
hardware  store.     It'll  make  it  look  more  than  ever 


THE  BOOMERS.  103 

like  the  real  goods.  Some  of  those  suckers  may  start 
to  build  a  house  or  two.  Besides,  there'll  be  a  steam- 
boat service,  that's  a  cinch,  and  I  can  get  away  pretty 
fast  and  over  to  Canada,  if  it  blows  up !  I'll  take  a 
chance." 

In  all  his  crooked,  stormy  career,  he  had  never 
lacked  decision,  and  now  that  characteristic  stood 
him  in  good  stead.  He  tumbled  into  bed,  and,  in  less 
than  five  minutes  after  the  lights  went  dark  in  the 
gorgeous  apartment,  was  sleeping  that  fine,  steady, 
undisturbed  sleep  which  is  supposed  to  come  from  a 
guiltless  conscience.  And  so  soundly  did  he  sleep, 
and  so  tired  was  he,  that  he  sat  up  in  bed  thinking  it 
still  early  in  the  night,  when,  in  the  morning,  the 
Colonel  rapped  on  his  door,  having  insisted  on  "going 
right  up." 

"Well,  well,  well !"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  beaming 
at  him  as  he  rubbed  his  sleepy  eyes  and  hitched  his 
pajamas  closer.  "Look  at  the  ant,  thou  sluggard! 
I've  been  up  'most  three  hours,  Burmah,  and  have 
done  a  whole  heap  of  business." 

That  brought  the  schemer  to  wakefulness  in  an 
instant. 

"Yes,  Sir,"  the  Colonel  went  on,  highly  elated  with 
himself,  "I  took  the  advice  of  Mister  Smiles,  who,  in 
his  most  excellent  work,  says  that  financial  success 
comes  to  those  who  get  up  early  enough.  I  got  up 
at  five  o'clock  this  morning,  at  six-thirty  my  break- 
fast w^as  over,  and  I  was  reading  the  big  account  of 
the  establishment  of  Port  Hatch.  At  seven  I  was 
down  to  a  contracting  office  I  had  observed  but  a  few 
days  ago,  arranging  for  having  them  come  up  and 


104  THE  BOOMERS. 

grade  Main  Street.  Very  liberal  men  they  are,  Sir. 
Very  liberal,  indeed!  They're  going  to  put  in  a 
graded  road  from  the  wharves  right  up  the  hill,  too, 
and  fix  it  so's  they  can  lay  the  pavements  as  soon  as 
we  can — er — show  them  some  additional  security  for 
their  work.  I  paid  them  five  thousand  dollars  down 
so  there  would  be  no  delay.  They're  to  send  me  con- 
tracts this  morning." 

"They  are,  eh?"  said  Burmah,  hopelessly.  "And 
you  paid  them  five  thousand  down  before  the  con- 
tracts were  drawn,  eh.'^" 

And,  to  the  Colonel's  surprise,  he  got  up  and 
clutched  his  thatch  of  gray  hair  with  both  hands, 
walked  across  to  kick  the  unoffending  waste-basket 
with  has  bare  foot,  then  used  profanity  as  he  hopped 
around  the  room  on  one  leg,  holding  his  injured  big 
toe  in  his  fat  hand.  This  exercise  seemed  to  steady 
him.  He  slipped  into  a  big  dressing-gown,  and 
grimly  sat  down  by  his  desk. 

"Colonel,"  he  said,  bluntly,  "friendship's  friend- 
ship, and  business  is  business.  I  can  help  you  build 
up  Port  Hatch,  and  you  can  help  me.  I  want  you 
to  deed  me  two  blocks  of  that  water-front,  and  four 
blocks  of  the  extension  on  Main  Street.  It's  to  be 
mine.     I  can't — " 

He  stopped ;  for  there  was  such  a  hurt  look  on  the 
Colonel's  face  that  even  he,  hardened  as  he  was,  could 
not  endure  it  and  continue  unrelenting. 

"Burmah,"  said  the  Colonel,  "it  ain't  what  you 
say,  but  the  way  you  say  it,  that  sounds  mighty 
unkind.  Gentlemen,  as  you  know,  even  though  they 
are  in  financial  pursuits,  don't  quibble  over  trifles. 


THE  BOOMERS.  105 

You  asked  for  four  blocks  on  Main  Street  Exten- 
sion. I'm  going  to  give  you  six.  You  asked  for  two 
blocks  of  water-front.  I'll  give  you  four.  There's 
enough  for  both  Miss  Arabella  and  me.  Personally, 
I  work  for  her  interests.  Publicly,  I  work  for  the 
promotion  and  up-lift  of  the  forthcoming  city,  which, 
bears  my  name,  which  has  honored  me  by  calling 
itself  Port  Hatch !  And  I  don't  like  to  feel,  Burmah, 
that  you-all— " 

"Why,  Colonel,  you  ain't  sore,  are  you?  I  didn't 
mean  it  that  way.  No,  Siree.  Rather  than  make 
you  offended,  I'd  cut  off  my  right  leg.  Yes,  Sir! 
Chop  her  right  off!" 

Burmah  held  up  a  chubby  leg,  the  roundness  of 
which  was  not  concealed  by  his  pajamas.  And  the 
truth  of  the  matter  was  that  he  was  actually  touched 
by  this  generosity.  It  brought  back  something  fine 
from  his  youth,  when  he,  too,  had  been  generous, 
before  greed  and  conquest  had  made  him  the  half- 
blackleg  he  was,  the  sharper,  the  schemer,  the  heart- 
less trafficker  in  anything  that  would  bring  returns. 
"I  was  about  to  suggest.  Colonel,"  he  said,  quickly 
shifting  away  from  dangerous  ground,  "that  we 
should  have  an  office,  or  offices,  down  in  the  business 
section  of  Seattle;  that  we  should  open  them  to-day, 
if  possible.  There  is  goin'  to  be  a  rush  for  Port 
Hatch  lands.  Port  Hatch  must  have  a  local  head- 
quarters." 

"Just  what  I  was  thinking  of,"  asserted  the 
Colonel,  helping  himself  to  one  of  Burmah's  cigars. 
"I  was  about  to  say  that  to  you.  Sir.  We'll  do  that 
the  first  thing.     I'll  pay  for  fitting  them  up.     Now, 


106  THE  BOOMERS. 

about  rugs.  I've  always  leaned  toward  those  old 
Persian  things.  Red's  the  best  for  offices,  though. 
Maybe  the  second  office  ought  to  have  green.  Wish 
I'd  thought  to  ask  Mister  Hubbard  about  that. 
Great  thing  to  be  an  artist,  Sir!" 

And  thus,  while  Burmah  Jones  shaved,  bathed,  and 
dressed,  the  Colonel  ambled,  sometimes  vocally,  some- 
times mentally,  onward,  devoted  for  the  moment  to 
establishing  offices  for  a  town  that  had  no  buildings, 
and  a  real-estate  concern  that  was  not  incorporated, 
and  a  business  firm  that  was  not  formed. 

Celerity  was  a  habit  with  Burmah  Jones,  when 
wearing  his  war-paint,  and  inasmuch  as  the  Colonel 
had  so  kindly  volunteered  to  pay  for  the  equipment 
of  the  new  offices,  and  wished  to  have  them  fitted 
artistically,  he  willingly  conceded  this  point.  As  a 
result,  by  sunset  of  that  day,  the  Port  Hatch  Land 
Company  had  become  a  reality  so  far  as  outward 
appearances  went.  Burmah  admitted  to  himself  that 
he  could  see  no  reason  in  the  world  why  the  Colonel 
insisted  on  buying  a  rug  of  dull  green,  when  it  would 
have  been  possible,  for  half  the  price,  to  get  a  very 
gorgeous  one  with  a  yellow  border,  red  center  and 
purple  fringe;  but  the  Colonel  paid,  and  that  was 
vastly  different  from  paying  for  it  one's  self.  Also, 
he  could  not  see  why  it  was  that  the  Colonel  chose 
big,  old,  dull  mahogany  desks  and  chairs,  when,  for 
less  money,  they  could  have  had  a  desk  painted  and 
striped  like  a  zebra. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Colonel  failed  to  appre- 
ciate all  the  decorative  instincts  turned  loose  by  Bur- 
mah.   The  Colonel  had  just  hammered  his  thumb  in 


THE  BOOMERS.  107 

the  new  offices,  when  Burmah  appeared  with  two  boys 
behind  him  lugging  huge  bundles. 

"Put  'em  down  there,"  indicated  Burmah,  and 
then,  after  they  had  gone,  turned  to  the  Colonel. 
"Got  'em!"  he  exclaimed.  "Just  what  we  want. 
Found  'em  in  a  store  bein'  sold  out  by  the  Sheriff. 
That  is,  most  of  'em.  The  rest  I  got  down  at 
Smith's." 

The  Colonel  meditatively  sucked  his  injured  thumb, 
and  stood  above  Burmah  while  the  latter  opened  his 
bundles.  First  came  a  shock  of  Dakota  wheat,  cut 
green,  and  palpably  dyed  to  an  extraordinary  golden 
hue.  Next  came  a  shock  of  Idaho  oats.  An  enor- 
mous stand  of  Iowa  corn-stalks  with  immense  white 
and  yellow  ears  wired  thereon,  a  dozen  monster 
Oregon  apples,  some  California  Bartlett  pears,  and 
some  Florida  lemons,  completed  the  selection.  The 
Colonel  forgot  his  thumb,  and  gazed  at  the  display 
on  the  floor. 

"But  pardon  me.  Sir,"  he  queried,  "if  I  ask  what 
we  are  to  do  with  all  those  things !" 

"What  to  do  with  'em.?  Put  'em  in  the  window 
over  there  as  soon  as  we  pull  the  shades  up,  and  have 
a  nice  sign  painted  to  hang  above  'em  which  reads, 
'Port  Hatch  land  the  most  fertile  in  the  world.  Look 
at  these!'" 

Burmah  got  up  from  his  knees  with  an  air  of  tri- 
umph; but  the  Colonel  looked  dubious. 

"Don't  you  think — eh,  that  is,  ain't  you  afraid 
that's  sort  of  misrepresenting  things?"  the  Colonel 
asked. 

Burmah  took  off  his  hat  and  wiped  his  forehead. 


108  THE  BOOMERS. 

He  then  twisted  the  large  diamond  ring  on  his  finger, 
pursed  his  lips,  and  vented  a  sigh  what  sounded  more 
like  the  exhaust  from  a  river  packet  than  a  human 
being. 

"But  we  don't  exactly  say  they  was  grown  up  at 
Port  Hatch,  do  we?"  he  objected. 

"Don't  see  how  the  inference  could  be  plainer,"  the 
Colonel  replied. 

And  there  was  something  so  inflexibly  honest  in 
his  attitude  that  Burmah  decided  to  change  front. 

"That's  the  way  real-estate  men  did  in  lots  of 
places  where  I've  been,"  he  remarked,  as  if  to  himself ; 
"but  maybe  it  ain't  exactly  right.  Colonel.  I'll  tell 
you  what  I'll  do  with  you.  I'll  split  the  difference. 
You're  right  about  our  havin'  no  fruit  up  there  yet, 
so  we'll  just  put  the  grain  in  the  window,  with  the 
sign.  We'll  eat  the  other  stuff.  Besides,  it  wouldn't 
keep  long'  anyhow !" 

Mentally,  he  consoled  himself  with  the  thought 
that  he  could  have  Hubbard  make  a  lot  of  drawings, 
and  fill  the  window  in  with  pictures  of  buildings  such 
as  the  "proposed  Methodist  Church  at  Port  Hatch," 
and  have  the  word  "proposed"  so  small  that  it  would 
take  a  reading  glass  to  discover  it.  Outwardly,  he 
was  active  with  the  pears,  and  by  careful  attention 
to  business  succeeded  in  eating  four  to  the  Colonel's 
one,  for  the  Colonel  had  fallen  to  rhapsodizing  on 
the  excellence  of  the  fruit,  and  now  and  then  quoted 
poetry.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  it  when  Burmah  bit 
into  the  fifth. 

"Pears,   ripe   and  yellow,  hanging   from   spreading 
limbs ; 


THE  BOOMERS.  109 

"Pears   that  droop   and   falter,   eager   for   craving 

hands ; 
"Pears  that  seem  to  welcome  the — " 

There  was  a  rap  at  the  door  and  a  frowsy-headed 
messenger-boy,  with  a  uniform  that  had  evidently 
done  much  service  for  a  much  larger  lad,  opened  it, 
and  stared  around. 

"Any  feller  here  by  the  name  of  Hatch?"  he 
queried,  nonchalantly. 

The  Colonel  stopped  quoting,  and  acquiesced. 

"Message  for  you,"  the  boy  said,  with  admirable 
brevity,  and  delivered  a  yellow  envelope  and  his 
book.  The  Colonel  adjusted  his  glasces,  signed  the 
book,  gave  the  boy  a  dime,  and  tore  the  envelope  open. 

"She's  coming!"  he  exclaimed,  jubilantly-  "She's 
coming,  Lord  bless  her !     She'll  be  here  to-morrow !" 

Burmah  had  been  looking  at  him  as  if  transfixed, 
with  a  pear,  half-eaten,  in  his  hand ;  but,  now,  he  was 
assailed  with  a  dreadful  surmise. 

"Coming?     Who's  coming?"  he  asked. 

"My  daughter,  Arabella,"  the  Colonel  almost 
shouted. 

"Good  Lord !"  groaned  Burmah  Jones,  as  happily 
as  if  someone  had  just  read  a  warrant  for  his  arrest. 
"Comin',  is  she?"  And  then,  to  himself,  he  added: 
"I  wish  to  the  little  fat  Billikin  of  luck  that  I  was 
goinM" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   DAUGHTER    ARRIVES. 

The  train  rattled  into  the  station-shed,  and  in  the 
very  front  rank  of  those  who  waited  for  it  stood  one 
very  tall,  thin  man,  with  a  mustache  and  goatee  and 
an  ebullient  air,  and  one  very  short,  fat  man,  with 
an  expectant,  downcast  mien.  The  tall  man  almost 
dragged  his  smaller  companion  into  danger's  path 
as  the  train  crashed  to  a  standstill  and  an  officer  ad- 
vised them  to  go  slowly.  A  Pullman  porter  dropped 
off  with  his  little  carpeted  step,  so  that  the  soles  of 
the  drummers'  shoes  might  not  get  soiled  before  wad- 
ing through  the  mud;  a  pompous  gentleman  with  a 
small  hand-bag  descended,  and  then,  with  due  speed, 
came  the  Tennessee  contingent,  led  by  Kirby,who  car- 
ried some  bags.  After  him  came  Tommy,  with  three 
or  four  lady's  wraps,  followed  by  Pick,  with  a  hand- 
bag, and  finally,  Arabella  herself,  smiling,  radiant, 
and  so  beautiful  that  every  man  on  the  platform 
stared  at  her,  including  one  gentleman  who,  em- 
bracing his  wife  after  a  seemingly  long  absence,  had 
to  swing  his  spouse  around  so  that  he  could  see  over 
her  shoulder.  The  policeman  edged  closer,  the  sta- 
tion-master wiped  off  his  glasses,  and  a  baggage-man 
used  the  word  "Please"  in  asking  for  gangway  room 
for  his  truck. 

And,  as  they  came  down  the  steps  in  procession, 
the  Colonel,  stricken  dumb  by  the  sight  of  so  many 
home  faces,  embraced  one  after  another,  and  repeated 
to  each: 

110 


THE  BOOMERS.  Ill 

"Why,  bless  my  soul!" 

But,  at  sight  of  Arabella,  he  could  no  longer  re- 
strain himself,  so  crushed  her  in  his  arms,  and  kissed 
her  on  the  forehead,  the  lips,  the  hair,  the  tip  of  her 
pretty  ear,  and  her  upturned  throat,  while  she  clung 
to  him  joyously,  heedless  of  disarray.  The  Colonel 
released  her,  held  her  at  arms'  length  and  critically 
surveyed  her  from  the  depths  of  her  candid,  violet 
eyes  to  the  points  of  her  tiny,  dainty  shoes. 

"Why,  Arabella,  you  haven't  changed  a  particle," 
he  exclaimed,  as  if  expecting  that  she  would  show 
gray  hairs,  after  being  separated  from  him  for  three 
or  four  weeks.  "You  look  just  like  you  used  to, 
lassie !" 

He  paused,  as  he  caught  sight  of  something  huge, 
like  a  trained  bear  in  a  linen  duster,  lumbering  down 
the  steps,  and  carrying  a  heap  of  wilted  flowers.  It 
was  Little  Billy  bringing  up  the  rear.  The  Colonel 
dropped  back  to  his,  "Why,  bless  my  soul!"  and 
rushed  to  Billy,  who  promptly  shoved  the  flowers  on 
him.  The  Colonel  accepted  them  much  as  he  would 
have  a  bale  of  hay,  and  appeared  puzzled,  and  half- 
inclined  to  drop  them  on  the  platform. 

"What — what's  this  mess?"  he  began. 

"Flowers,  Dad !  Just  flowers  !  Flowers  from  Ten- 
nessee that  I  saved  for  you,"  exclaimed  his  daughter. 

He  suddenly  buried  his  face  in  the  wilted  petals 
and  inhaled  deeply-  The  very  hold  of  his  hands 
changed  from  reluctance  to  reverence.  As  if  the 
blossoms  were  alive  and  tender,  he  clutched  them  a 
little  closer  to  his  breast,  and  they  saw  that  his  eyes 
were  moist,  and  filled  with  longing  and  homesickness. 


112  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Flowers!  Flowers  from  home!"  he  whispered; 
and  Arabella  relieved  him  of  the  burden,  and  brought 
him  back  to  realities. 

"Oh,  Dad !"  she  exclaimed.  "Isn't  it  lovely,  the  way 
the  boys  decided  to  come  through  with  me?  I  don't 
know  what  I  should  have  done  without  them.  We've 
had  such  a  good  time'  all  the  way,  and  it  is  so  far! 
And  we  are  all  so  glad  to  know  that  you  have  made 
a  fortune !" 

Behind  her,  a  small,  retiring  fat  man  winced,  and 
looked  uncomfortable.  So  that  was  what  this  fine  old 
simpleton  had  wired,  was  it? — that  he  had  already 
made  a  fortune !  Burmah  Jones  rarely  lacked  plenty 
of  self-assurance;  but,  for  once  in  his  life,  he  was 
timid  and  constrained,  and  devoutly  wished  that  he 
were  at  least  two  thousand  miles  away,  or— say — 
back  in  Fort  Scott.  But  he  was  not  to  escape,  for 
the  Colonel,  suddenly  remembering  him,  wheeled  and 
caught  him  by  the  arm. 

"Arabella,"  said  the  Colonel,  graciously,  "I  wish 
to  have  permission  to  introduce  to  you  my  sympa- 
thetic and  understanding  lieutenant.  Mister  William 
Burmah  Jones !" 

He  doffed  his  hat,  and  bowed  as  if  presenting  an 
ambassador  to  a  queen,  and  Burmah  got  red  in  the 
face  and  blinked  like  an  owl,  and  with  difficulty  re- 
strained a  desire  to  scrape  his  feet,  and  tell  her  that 
she  was  "A  peach !"  He  felt  more  at  home  in  meeting 
the  quartet  of  hopefuls  who  accompanied  her,  and 
mentally  decided,  with  his  customary  quick  appraise- 
ment, that  they  were  all  young  men  of  means  and 
address,    and    from    both   view-Doints   would   prove 


THE  BOOMERS.  113 

desirable  assets.  Besides,  he  decided  to  himself  in 
that  same  flashing  thought,  if  he  should  be  compelled 
to  leave  for  parts  unknown  on  some  fast  train,  this 
quartet  should  be  able  at  least  to  save  the  Colonel's 
life. 

A  shout  of  laughter  disturbed  them,  and  the  per- 
sons in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  party  began  to 
crane  necks  in  the  direction  of  the  front  end  of  the 
train.  A  querulous  old  voice,  filled  with  indignation, 
was  heard  above  the  noise  of  the  station,  shouting : 

"Heah,  White  Man!  You-all  bettah  leave  dem 
baggage  alone!  Don'  tek  dem  away  from  heah! 
Please,  Sah!" 

And  on  the  top  of  that  arose  another  and  more 
militant  voice: 

"Dat-ar's  Miss  Arabella's  j uranium!  You-all  put 
dat  down,  or  Ah'U  jes  nachurally  swat  you  one  dat'll 
double  you  up  like  a  bolony  skin  when  de  stuffin's 
picked  out !    Gim  me  dat !" 

Some  familiar  note  in  the  voice,  something  recall^ 
ing  his  old  days  of  feudal  protectorship,  came  to  the 
Colonel,  and  he  answered  as  if  to  the  call  of  a  bugle. 
With  coat-tails  flying  and  fists  doubled,  he  whirled 
and  swung  down  the  patform,  thrusting  men  aside  as 
if  they  were  straws,  and  plunged  into  a  crowd  up 
near  the  second-class  sleeper  steps.  Uncle  Jeff  was 
there,  again  arrayed  in  his  gold-braided  uniform  and 
ancient  silk  hat,  but  now  some  one  had  jammed  it 
down  over  his  head,  where  it  clung,  rumpled  and  ruf- 
fled. Aunt  Sally  was  behind  him  striving  to  hold 
fast  to  the  huge  water-pitcher,  a  tray  and  a  bird- 
cage, at  the  same  time.     At  her  feet  was  a  bundle 


114  THE  BOOMERS. 

wrapped  in  a  bed-quilt  scarcely  less  gorgeous  than 
Uncle  Jeff's  regalia.  A  roaring,  tantalizing  crowd 
surrounded  them,  and  beset  them  with  rude  jest. 
Through  this,  and  to  their  aid,  plunged  the  Colonel, 
wild-eyed,  and  excited.  Uncle  Jeff  was  manfully 
struggling  with  an  expressman  bent  on  removing  an 
old  and  battered  satchel;  but  the  Colonel  was  imme- 
diately recognized  by  Aunt  Sally,  who  shouted : 

"Kunnell!  Kunnell!  Heah  we-all!  Make  that 
low  white  trash  pass  back  dat  j uranium!  Dar  he! 
Ovah  dah!" 

Appeal  and  jubilation  rang  in  her  voice,  and  she 
dropped  the  bird-cage  to  point  a  trembling  hand  at 
a  van  beyond.  The  Colonel  lost  no  time.  He  sprang 
forward  with  the  agility  of  excitement,  shoved  out  of 
the  way  one  who  interfered,  seized  the  geranium  pot 
with  one  hand,  and  wrested  it  from  Aunt  Sally's  tor- 
mentor, then,  doubling  a  white  old  fist,  smote  the 
offender  full  on  the  jaw.  Taken  by  surprise,  al- 
though much  younger  and  heavier  than  the  Colonel, 
the  man  was  knocked  from  his  feet.  The  Colonel 
slipped  the  flower-pot  under  his  arm,  and  struck  an- 
other man  who  shouted  a  curse. 

"There  ain't  no  man  livin'  dares  cuss  out  a  Hatch," 
roared  the  Colonel,  dropping  into  vernacular,  and 
fuming  with  rage.  "Is  there  any  other  pusson  here 
who  has  anything  to  say?" 

Having  made  his  challenge,  he  stood  there,  white 
and  trembling,  with  the  flower-pot  under  his  arm 
and  the  blossoming  plant  dragging  limply  downward. 
At  once  the  disturbers  began  to  fall  back  and  give 
him   room.      Then  the   outer  throng  wavered,   and 


<>eec.i 


THE  BOOMERS.  115 

broke  wide  open,  and  there  charged  in,  like  a  flying 
wedge,  the  quartet  from  Chattanooga,  with  a  short, 
fighting,  fat  man  as  the  apex.  A  policeman  became 
entangled  in  the  swirl,  and  came  with  them. 

"Stop !  Stop  this !"  shouted  the  executive  of  law 
and  order.     What  does  this  mean?" 

There  was  an  instant's  silence,  and  the  man  who 
had  seized  the  cherished  plant  got  to  his  feet,  and 
began  to  struggle  out  of  the  crowd.  The  officer, 
deciding  that  this  man  must  be  the  malefactor, 
plunged  after,  and  caught  him  by  the  collar,  threat- 
ening to  use  his  club. 

But  the  Colonel  interfered. 

"Mister  Policeman,"  he  said,  in  his  most  dignified 
voice,  "I  am  Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch.  We-all 
have  had  a  slight  argument  here,  but  it's  over  now. 
This  man  here  surely  did  aggravate  me;  but  there's 
no  use  in  pesterin'  with  him.  Let  him  go.  I  have  no 
complaint.  The  Hatches  have  been  able  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  Sir,  always." 

The  officer  released  his  hold  on  the  man  who  had 
been  captured,  and  looked  bewildered. 

"Well,  you're  sure  some  square  old  guy,"  asserted 
the  man,  grinning  at  the  Colonel. 

"The  same  to  you.  Sir,"  declared  the  Colonel, 
magnanimously,  and  suddenly  held  the  geranium  out 
toward  the  officer.  "Would  you  mind  holding  this 
for  me,"  he  asked,  "until  I  can  find  my  daughter. 
Miss  Arabella?" 

The  policeman  was  so  astonished  that  he  sheathed 
his  club,  and  accepted  the  plant,  and  stood  with  it 
in  his  hands.  The  Colonel  saw  Burmah,  and  the 
quartet  of  hopefuls  and  was  overjoyed. 


116  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Come  on,  let's  get  out  of  this,"  suggested  the  man 
from  Kansas,  cooling  his  anger.  "Are  these  some 
more  of  your  folks,  Colonel?" 

"'Deed  we  is,"  fervently  responded  Aunt  Sally, 
before  the  Colonel  had  time  to  reply;  and  Burmah 
marshaled  them,  took  the  plant  from  the  officer,  and 
shoved  his  way  out  toward  Arabella,  who,  infinitely 
distressed  and  excited,  was  hovering  on  the  outskirts. 

"It  looks  to  me,"  muttered  Burmah,  "as  if  I  had 
taken  charge  of  an  orphan  asylum  where  all  the 
young  ones  are  the  offspring  of  prize-fighters! 
Lord !    I  got  to  get  them  away  from  this  !" 

He  deposited  the  plant  at  Arabella's  feet,  and 
looked  for  an  instant  over  his  shoulder  to  where  the 
officer,  again  demanding  order,  was  firmly  compelling 
the  crowd  to  disperse. 

"Get  a  move  on  you!  If  you  have  no  business 
here,  get  out!"  he  was  ordering,  and,  when  any  one 
hesitated,  he  enforced  his  words  with  a  shove.  Al- 
ready the  station  was  resuming  its  normal  activities, 
and  the  group  stood  alone. 

"Now,"  said  Burmah,  "if  you  folks  will  wait  here 
a  minute,  I'll  fix  everything  up  all  right." 

Before  his  words  were  finished,  he  had  vanished. 

He  hastened  out  to  secure  cabs  for  the  party.  He 
hustled  back  with  porters.  He  had  the  baggage 
counted.  He  took  the  checks,  and  saw  to  it  that 
everything  was  undamaged.  He  was  a  general,  mar- 
shaling his  troops,  and  displaying  efficiency  in  every 
move.  He  tactfully  crowded  the  four  young  men  into 
his  own  cab,  and  acted  as  a  guide  on  the  way  to  the 
hotel,  displaying  an  amazing  knowledge  of  Seattle, 
from  its  yearly  tonnage  to  its  land  values  and  the 


THE  BOOMERS.  117 

price  of  sky-scrapers.  There  was  no  question  he 
could  not  answer  off-hand,  and  his  amazing  memory 
for  figures  and  details  commanded  his  hearers'  ad- 
miration. He  maneuvered  so  deftly  that  he  installed 
the  quartet  in  his  own  hotel  with  rooms  on  the  same 
floor,  where  he  could  have  them  under  his  eye,  and 
cultivate  them.  There  was  no  telling  how  useful  they 
might  be,  and  he,  a  past  master  at  using  men,  had 
long  before  discovered  that  guileless  young  men  with 
money  were  frequently  profitable.  He  telephoned 
the  hotel  that  entertained  the  Colonel  and  Arabella, 
an  announcement  that  he  would  have  the  entire  party 
there  for  luncheon,  and  all  the  time  he  was  mentally 
formulating  his  campaign. 

The  Colonel,  in  the  meantime,  bubbling  over  with 
joy  and  pride,  was  being  driven  to  his  hotel.  Every 
now  and  then  he  arose  in  his  seat  to  look  at  the  cab 
following'  in  which  were  seated  Uncle  Jeff  and  Aunt 
Sally,  still  perturbed  and  frightened  by  their  narrow 
escape,  but  mighty  proud  of  that  cab.  Each  time 
he  looked  at  them,  the  Colonel  waved  his  hand  re- 
assuringly, and  each  time  that  he  waved  Uncle  Jeff 
arose  and  doffed  his  hat,  and  attempted  to  bow. 
Now  and  then  Uncle  Jeff  did  so  inopportunely,  and, 
as  the  vehicle  jolted,  was  thrown  back  into  his  seat. 
The  cab-driver  seemed  a  careless  sort  of  person,  who 
smoked  a  pipe,  and  never  so  much  as  bestowed  a 
glance  on  the  Colonel  or  his  own  fares.  It  seemed 
as  if  fighting  and  hauling  men  in  uniform  were  every- 
day events  with  him.  His  horses  were  scarcely  less 
phlegmatic  than  he,  for  they  stood  without  hitching 
when  he  halted  before  the  servants'  entrance,  and 


118  THE  BOOMERS. 

huddled  passengers,  plants,  bundles,  satchels  and 
bird-cages  out  to  the  doorway.  He  said  to  the  porter 
who  came  out: 

"Take  'em  in  and  preserve  'em  carefully  till  they're 
wanted.  There  seems  to  be  an  old  gink  upstairs 
that's  rather  fond  of  them.  Nice  clothes  this  old 
coon's  got  on,  ain't  they?" 

Then  he  drove  away,  thinking  of  the  liberal  fare 
he  had  mulcted  from  Burmah  Jones,  and  was  content. 

The  Colonel  and  Arabella  had  disappeared  inside 
the  rotunda,  attended  by  porters  carrying  the  hand- 
baggage,  who  stood  respectfully  behind  them.  For 
was  not  this  man  the  great  financier,  whom  the  news- 
papers had  made  so  notable?  Was  he  not  an  ex- 
ceptionally liberal  man  with  his  tips? 

The  Colonel  had  reached  the  very  desk  before  he 
suddenly  remembered  something,  and  was  shocked  by 
his  own  negligence. 

"Dear  me !"  he  exclaimed,  turning  to  Arabella.  "I 
do  declare  I  forgot  all  about  engaging  a  room  for 
you!  Wonder  if  we  shall  be  able  to  get  it!  You 
see.  Honey,  I've  been  so  all-fired  busy  here,  looking 
after  things,  that  I  just  naturally  overlooked  it." 

And  Arabella  patted  his  arm,  and  looked  fondly 
up  into  his  face,  and  told  him  that  she  had  always 
understood  that  big  financiers  did  have  a  heap  to 
think  about,  and  assured  him,  also,  that  she  didn't 
want  him  to  work  so  hard.  A  long  string  of  com- 
mercial men  was  lined  up  at  the  register  ahead  of 
them,  and  Arabella  had  time  to  look  around.  The 
wonder  of  that  wonder  city  of  the  North-west  was 
dawning  upon  her,  and  thrilling  her  with  its  mar* 


THE  BOOMERS.  119 

velous  palpitation.  Here  before  her  were  rough, 
sinewy,  clear-eyed  miners  from  Alaska,  quietly  ob- 
serving everything,  and  saying  little,  as  if  the  silence 
of  the  vast  isolations  of  the  North  had  sealed  their 
lips.  Cattlemen,  black-hatted  and  bow-legged  from 
the  saddles  of  their  youth,  quietly  discussed  the  price 
of  beef,  and  at  a  table  two  young  engineers  in  worn 
corduroys  sat  studying  a  drawing.  A  banker,  clad 
as  if  he  had  just  stepped  from  a  Fifth  Avenue  hotel, 
immaculate  and  poised,  was  drawing  gloves  on  his 
slender  fingers,  and  a  priest  and  a  minister  were  ex- 
changing greetings.  At  the  cigar-stand  in  the  corner 
of  the  rotunda,  a  girl,  by  nature  a  pronounced 
brunette,  but  now  a  startling  blonde,  was  throwing 
dice  with  two  men  to  see  which  of  them  should  pay 
for  the  cigars,  and  the  slang  she  used  was  so  new 
and  daring  that  Arabella  was  fascinated  by  it.  Her 
inspection  of  those  around  was  interrupted  by  the 
hotel-clerk,  who  discovered  the  Colonel,  and  abruptly 
left  the  register,  and  came  to  the  end  of  his  enclosure. 

"Colonel  Hatch — oh.  Colonel!"  the  clerk  shouted 
through  the  grating.  "Mr.  Jones  made  all  arrange- 
ments for  you,  and  ordered  your  personal  belongings 
taken  from  your  old  room  to  the  new  ones.  It's  all 
attended  to.  Here,  boy!"  He  banged  a  bell,  and 
a  bell-boy  rushed  forward.  "Take  Colonel  Hatch 
and  his  daughter  up  to  suite  six,  seventeen !" 

**Now  that  was  sure  right  nice  of  Burmah!  He 
does  do  a  mighty  lot  to  help  me,"  exclaimed  the 
Colonel.  "Come  on,  Arabella ;"  and  he  led  the  way 
in  pursuit  of  the  boy  to  the  elevator. 

Arabella  could  not  restrain  an  exclamation  of  de- 


120  THE  BOOMERS. 

light  when  the  doors  were  thrown  open ;  for  Burmah 
had  chosen,  regardless  of  expense,  the  largest  suite 
in  the  hotel,  that  which  commanded  the  most  noble 
views,  with  an  outlook  upon  the  majestic  Olympics, 
the  wonderful  Puget  Sound  and  the  broad-flung 
forests  in  the  distance.  [The  room  was  filled  with 
flowers,  also  bought  regardless  of  expense,  and  they 
were  everywhere  impregnating  the  air  with  fragrance. 
All  the  surroundings  bore  frank  evidence  that  Colonel 
Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch  had  a  bank-account  big 
enough  to  buy  the  hotel,  if  he  wanted  it,  and  then, 
like  a  Coal  Oil  Johnny,  hand  it  to  a  cab-driver.  And 
the  financier,  not  in  the  least  disturbed  as  to  where 
the  means  were  to  come  from  to  pay  for  such  ex- 
travagant quarters,  thoughtfully  approved  of  Bur- 
mah's  selection.  There  was  but  one  thing  in  the 
room  that  annoyed  him,  and  that  was  a  small,  en- 
graved and  framed  brass  tablet,  stating  that  this 
suite  of  rooms  had  once  been  occupied  by  a  President 
of  the  United  States.  There  were  two  reasons  for 
his  annoyance:  the  first  that  he  thought  it  bad  taste 
to  boast  so  openly ;  and  the  second  that  the  President 
mentioned  had  been  a  Republican  President,  while 
he,  the  Colonel,  had  never  voted  anything  but  a 
straight  Democratic  ticket.  Before  attending  to  any- 
thing else,  he  turned  the  tablet's  face  to  the  wall. 

Arabella  removed  her  hat,  and  then  threw  herself 
into  his  arms.  He  picked  her  up  as  if  she  were  still 
a  child,  and  carried  her  over,  and  seated  himself  in 
one  of  the  big  upholstered  chairs,  holding  her  very 
tenderly. 

"My  little  girl!     My  little  girl!"  he  whispered  in 


THE  BOOMERS.  121 

her  ear.  "I've  wanted  jou,  Honey,  every  hour  since 
I  left  home.  I've  been  thinkin'  of  you  all  the  time — 
more  than  I  did  of  makin'  money.  And  now  you're 
here  with  me,  and  we  ain't  goin'  to  be  away  from 
each  other  any  more." 

His  hand  patted  her  shoulders  even  as  he  had 
patted  them  when,  a  tiny  child,  she  had  sobbed  for 
the  mother  that  had  passed  forever  from  her  sight; 
patted  and  comforted  her  even  as  it  had  when  striv- 
ing to  assuage  her  childish  sorrows.  There  were 
strength  and  love  and  understanding  in  his  touch; 
there  was  his  deep,  constant  longing  for  her  in  the 
cadence  of  his  whisper.  She  alone  fathomed  the 
anxieties  that  had  assailed  him  in  all  his  adventures 
since  he  had  wandered  from  his  quiet,  sequestered 
life  to  seek  a  new  fortune,  and  so  she  rested,  speech- 
less and  happy,  in  his  arms.  The  quiet  home  on 
the  Marquard  plantation  seemed  now  a  scene  of  some 
past  existence,  and  they,  together,  exiled  into  a  hurly- 
burly  world  of  noise  and  endeavor.  The  roar  of  the 
train  carrying  her  across  the  thousands  of  miles  was 
still  in  her  ears,  the  scream  of  locomotives  awak- 
ening her  in  the  night ;  but  above  all,  triumphant,  yet 
soothing,  that  soft  whisper. 

"Home,  my  father,"  she  said,  "is  where  you  are 
and  where  we  can  be  together." 

The  Colonel  gulped  strangely,  and  then,  to  relieve 
himself,  boosted  her  from  his  lap,  and  assumed  a 
great  air  of  direction. 

"Now,  you  must  go  and  take  your  bath,  and  get 
out  of  your  traveling-dress,"  he  said.  "I'll  call  up 
the  office,  and  tell  them  to  send  Mammy  and  Uncle 


122  THE  BOOMERS. 

Jeff  right  up.  {Thej  can  help  you  unpack  your 
stuff," 

He  sent  for  his  servants,  who  came  up  timidly, 
being  fearful  of  elevators  and  such  modern  improve- 
ments, which  they  had  never  seen,  and  broke  into 
the  room  much  as  if  they,  too,  sought  protection. 
Jeff,  who  had  been  vastly  disappointed  because  he 
could  discover  no  colored  brother  who  recognized 
the  uniform  of  the  Ancient  Sons  of  Africa,  was 
rehabilitated  into  a  very  homely,  very  gnarled  old 
negro  man. 

"Now  j^ou  and  Jeff,  Mammy,  get  busy  around 
here,  and  do  what  is  to  be  done,"  ordered  the  Colonel, 
as  if  speaking  to  children,  "and  I'll  see  what  I  can 
do.  Hold  on  a  minute.  Where  did  they  put  you? 
In  the  coal-bin?" 

"Lawseee,  no,  Kunnell!"  replied  Aunt  Sally. 
"Dey  done  put  us  upstairs  in  two  rooms.  I  ain't 
goin'  to  stand  for  no  sech  foolishness  as  dat.  'You 
jes  fotch  dat  ole  nigger  you  see  comin'  with  me 
right  in  heah,'  Ah  says.  'Ah  ain't  goin'  to  have 
him  gallivantin'  aroun'  whar  Ah  cain't  look  after 
him.  He's  mah  ole  man!'  So  now  dey-all  got  us 
in  one  big,  fine  room  most  as  good  as  dis.  But 
tain't  lak  home,  Marse  Hatch.  When  we  all  goin' 
back  home?  We  shore  been  away  a  mighty  long 
time  now." 

With  a  great  attempt  at  sternness,  the  Colonel 
chided  her  for  talking  too  much,  and  then  proceeded 
out  of  his  new  apartment  with  something  almost 
approaching  a  swagger  of  proprietorship. 

"De  Kunnell  done  said  he  made  his  fortune  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  123 

a  powful  sight  of  money,"  Aunt  Sally  confided  to 
Uncle  Jeff  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  after  the  doughty 
financier  had  departed,  "an'  Ah  reckon  from  de 
looks  of  dis  house  he's  bought  he  has.  Dis  is  sure 
some  house!" 

The  Colonel,  in  the  meantime,  stalking  down  the 
halls,  betrayed  another  bit  of  good  feeling  by  bow- 
ing to  every  one  he  met.  He  felt  gracious  toward 
the  elevator-boy,  and  gave  that  pert  youth  as  a 
tip  a  nice,  new,  shinj''  dollar.  The  world  was  at 
his  feet,  now  that  he  had  Arabella  here  by  his  side, 
his  old  household  retainers  to  do  his  bidding,  and 
a  town  named  after  him — a  town  that  was  to  be 
the  most  famous  in  the  West.  He  sauntered  around 
the  rotunda,  and  out  to  the  street,  where  he  beamed 
benevolently  on  all  he  met  with  a  smile  so  frank 
and  engaging  that  even  those  who  had  never  seen 
or  heard  of  him  returned  it  with  interest.  Each 
atom  of  creation,  on  that  day  of  Arabella's  arrival, 
was  numbered  amongst  his  friends.  He  was  satisfied 
with  everybody  and  everything.  Presently,  he  met 
Burmah  Jones,  escorting  the  Chattanooga  quartet 
to  luncheon  at  the  Colonel's  expense.  Burmah 
stopped  him. 

"Saw  you  coming,  Colonel,"  he  said,  deferentially, 
"and  was  glad  to  see  you.  I  was  just  tellin'  our 
friends  here — "  He  paused  suddenly,  and  eyed  the 
lapel  of  the  Colonel's  coat.  "For  the  Lord's  sake. 
Colonel,"  he  burst  out,  "why  don't  you  get  a  new 
buttonholer?     That  stuff  looks  to  me  like  hay." 

"That,  Mister  Jones,"  said  the  Colonel,  gravely, 
**is  a  flower  from  Tennessee." 


124  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  quiet  dignity  of  the  man  made  the  others 
respect  him,  and  Burmah  most  of  all.  He,  a  wan- 
derer, who  could  with  difficulty  trace  back  the 
periods  of  his  stopping  in  a  long  and  constantly 
migratory  flight,  found  in  this  ancient  Southerner 
a  new  and  engrossing  puzzle.  There  was  something 
awakening  in  Burmah  Jones  that  responded  to  this 
natural   sentiment  on  the  part  of  Colonel  Hatch. 

"We  are  all  goin'  to  have  luncheon  at  your  hotel, 
Colonel,"  he  said,  "and  we  were  on  our  way.  How 
is  your  daughter?" 

"Yes,  Colonel,  how  is  Miss  Arabella?"  broke  in 
a  solicitous  chorus,  which  the  Colonel  could  not 
ignore. 

"Thank  you.  Gentlemen,"  said  the  colonel,  "Miss 
Arabella  is  very  comfortable.  You  will  see  her  at 
luncheon,  I  trust." 

And  the  quartet  agreed  in  the  hope.  Under  Bur- 
mah's  guidance,  they  turned  back  to  the  hotel,  and 
waited  for  Arabella.  When  she  appeared,  the  girl 
went  directly  to  the  man  from  Kansas,  and  thanked 
him  for  securing  her  such  admirable  apartments, 
and  for  gracing  them  with  flowers.  To  his  own 
surprise,  as  well  as  to  the  surprise  of  the  Colonel, 
Burmah  again  found  himself  awkward  and  embar- 
rassed. 

"Say,  that's  all  right.  Miss  Hatch,"  he  stam- 
mered. "I  wanted  to  do  something,  and  that  was 
— all  I  could  think  of.  The  flowers  were — ^were — 
cheap," 

Then,   to   escape   from   conversation,  he   led  the 


THE  BOOMERS.  125 

way  out  and  downward  to  the  private  dining-room 
which  he  had  engaged  for  his  luncheon  party. 

Again,  Arabella  was  compelled  to  give  an  exclama- 
tion of  delight ;  also,  she  turned,  and,  for  the  second 
time,  complimented  the  Kansan  for  his  taste,  a  com- 
pliment which  Burmah  accepted  gleefully,  but  with- 
out telling  her  that  he  had  left  the  decoration  as 
well  as  the  bill  of  fare  entirely  to  the  judgment  of 
a  red-headed,  bow-legged  waiter,  who  had  once  been 
steward  on  a  fish-boat.  Burmah  knew  there  was 
this  to  his  own  credit,  that  he  had  ordered  regard- 
less of  expense,  inasmuch  as  he  proposed  that  the 
Colonel  should  pay  the  bill. 

It  was  a  wonderful  luncheon.  The  Colonel,  from 
the  head  of  the  table,  beamed  upon  his  daughter, 
his  partner  and  his  young  friends,  and  warming 
under  the  influence  of  flowers  and  wine,  expanded 
with  satisfaction.  Presently,  he  began  to  be  fidgety, 
and  Arabella,  recognizing  that  he  was  threatening 
to  burst  into  oratory,  tried  desperately  to  keep  the 
conversation  moving  so  swiftly  that  her  father 
might  find  no  opening.  This  ruse,  however,  did  not 
succeed  in  checking  the  Colonel.  Nothing  could 
have  stopped  him — nothing  less  than  the  dynamit- 
ing of  the  hotel.  He  was  "chuck  full"  of  speech, 
and  had  to  talk,  or  burst.  There  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  humor  him. 

A  smiling  Beau  Brummel  of  the  old  school,  he 
got  to  his  feet,  buttoned  his  coat  very  tightly, 
bowed  deeply,  and  flamed  into  eloquence. 

"Friends  and  fellow  citizens.  Miss  Arabella  and 
Gentlemen:    Since  we   are   gathered  here  together 


126  THE  BOOMERS. 

like  one  great  family  at  the  festal  banquet  board, 
I  deem  it  fitting  to  say  a  few  words  to  those  young 
gentlemen  who  have  stepped  from  the  threshold  of 
their  homes  in  our  beloved  South  to  engage  in  the 
pursuits  of  life.  They  come  from  the  State  where 
the  birds  sing  the  sweetest,  where  the  flowers  are 
the  most  fragrant  and  beautiful,  where  the  women 
are  the  handsomest,  the  horses  the  fastest,  and  the 
citizens  shining  lights  to  the  entire  civilized  world. 
It  is  with  a  feeling  tinged  with  sorrow  that  I  tell 
you  that  we  who  are  here  are  to  establish  the  one  rival 
to  the  glorious  city  of  Chattanooga.  We  are  not 
traitors  to  that  proud  and  beautiful  city  which  we 
have  left,  but  we  are  to  be  her  pioneers.  We  are 
to  show  the  world  what  people  from  Chattanooga 
can  do.  Off  up  to  the  north  of  us,  cradled  by  blue 
waves  and  lofty  hills,  lies  the  dream  city  of  Port 
Hatch.  I  can  close  my  eyes,  and  see  her  lofty 
spires,  her  magnificent  public  buildings,  her  splen- 
did parks,  her  beautifully  paved  streets,  her  wharves 
teeming  with  industry,  and  her  school-houses  filled 
with  studious  young  citizens,  all  of  whom  shall  do 
credit  to  this  nation.  Looking  further  into  the 
future,  I  can  see  many  of  these  pupils,  now  little 
boys  bent  over  their  books,  becoming  presidents, 
and  senators,  and  congressmen,  and  police-commis- 
sioners.    I  wish  to  offer  four  standing  toasts!" 

With  a  perfected  knowledge  of  the  proprieties, 
the  quartet  promptly  scrambled  to  its  feet,  and 
Burmah  Jones,  bewildered,  also  climbed  up. 

"I  have  the  honor,"  said  the  Colonel,  "to  drink 
to  the  happiness  of  my  daughter.  Miss  Arabella." 


THE  BOOMERS.  127 

"Hurrah  for  Miss  Arabella!"  enthusiastically 
shouted  the  quartet. 

"Now,  to  our  mother  city,  the  queen  of  Ten- 
nessee— Chattanooga." 

The  yell  and  response  were  not  so  fervent. 

"Now,  to  that  young  giant  metropolis,  Port 
Hatch." 

Only  Burmah  found  his  voice. 

"And,  last  of  all,  to  that  wonderful  dreamer, 
artist  to  his  finger-tips,  poet  in  his  heart,  gentleman 
by  instinct,  honorable  as  few  men  are,  builder  of 
empires — our  host.  Colonel  William  Burmah  Jones !" 

Arabella  instantly  jumped  to  her  feet,  waved  her 
glass  on  high,  and  joined  in  the  ovation.  It  was 
an  ovation;  but  Burmah  Jones  suddenly  got  red 
in  the  face,  his  mouth  hung  open  in  astonishment, 
and  he  displayed  all  the  symptoms  of  paralysis. 
It  was  the  first  time  in  his  long  and  notorious  career 
that  anybody  had  ever  accused  him  of  being  either 
honorable,  or  a  gentleman.  True,  he  had  modestly, 
on  various  occasions,  advertised  himself  as  an 
empire-builder;  but  it  was  the  first  time  that  as 
many  as  six  people  had  agreed  with  him.  Also, 
there  was  another  cause  for  perturbation.  But  all 
he  said  aloud,  in  response,  was: 

"I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart." 

What  he  thought  to  himself  as  he  sat  down  was: 

"Hell,  that  old  goat  expects  me  to  pay  for  this 
lunch  1" 


CHAPTER  X. 

AND   THEY   VISIT    UTOPIA. 

The  bells  of  the  sound  steamer,  The  Golden 
Eagle,  were  jangling  in  the  depths  of  the  engine- 
rooms  below,  and  her  whistle  was  bellowing  its 
hoarse  call  for  a  landing. 

Port  Hatch  was  in  sight.  A  young  man,  carry- 
ing a  suit-case  in  one  hand  and  a  large  thin,  square 
package  under  his  other  arm,  came  hurriedly  aft. 
He  saw  that  the  whole  portion  of  the  deck  abaft 
the  smoke-house  was  deserted,  then  suddenly  dropped 
the  suit-case,  and  used  an  impolite  exclamation.  It 
was  "Little  Billy."  Immediately  after  him,  in  pro- 
cession, one  at  a  time,  came  Pick,  Kirby  and 
Tommy,  and  each  in  turn  did  exactly  as  Little 
Billy  had,  then  scowled  at  the  others.  Little  Billy 
suddenly  tore  the  wrapping  from  the  package 
under  his  arm,  and  in  the  casement  of  the  smoking- 
room  window  stood  up  a  nice  new  sign,  tastefully 
done  in  blue  and  gold,  which  read: 

WILLIAM  REYNOLDS 

ATTORNEY-AT-LAW 

The  others  in  turn  carefully  undid  their  pack- 
ages, each  announcing  that  its  owner  was  about  to 
hang  out  his  shingle.  All  of  a  sudden,  the  big  form 
of  Little  Billy  doubled  over,  in  a  mad  burst  of 
hilarity. 

He  jumped  to  the  corner  of  the  smoking-room, 
and  waved  an  arm,  in  a  gesture  like  the  Colonel's, 
toward  the  bare  headland  they  were  approaching. 

128 


THE  BOOMERS.  129 

"See  the  lofty  spires !"  he  shouted. 

"And  magnificent  public  buildings !"  added 
Tommy. 

"And  splendid  park!"  chimed  in  Kirby. 

"And  her  school-houses  filled  with  industrious 
young  citizens,  all  of  whom  shall  do  credit  to  this 
nation,"  chanted  Pick,  excellently  imitating  the 
Colonel's  voice. 

And  then,  joining  arms  in  a  circle,  they  danced 
quite  gaily  around  their  suit-cases,  and  sang  it,  to 
the  tune  of  the  "Miserere." 

They  were  interrupted  in  this  important  cere- 
mony by  a  voice   from  the  corner: 

"Well,  for  heaven's  sake!  What  are  you  boys 
doing?"  it  asked;  and  they  turned  to  see  Arabella 
looking  at  them.  Instantly  they  sobered,  for  it 
was  pitifully  plain  that  Arabella  was  almost  on  the 
verge  of  tears. 

"What  on  earth  are  we  to  do?"  she  asked,  with 
lips  that,  in  spite  of  her  attempt  to  be  brave,  were 
quivering. 

"Do?  One  could  do  anything  in  a  place  like  this. 
It's  all  and  more  than  the  Colonel  said.  I'm  just 
tickled  to  death,"  Little  Billy  lied  with  enthusiasm. 

"I  never  saw  anything  like  it,"  bravely  announced 
Kirby,  which  was  really  the  truth. 

"It's  the  most  beautiful  town  site  in  the  world," 
devoutly    exclaimed    Pick. 

Tommy  in  the  meantime  had  seized  his  suit-case 
and  his  sign,  and  started  hastily  forward. 

"I'm  not  going  to  wait  a  minute  longer,"  he 
declared.  It  would  be  the  height  of  ingratitude  for 
us  not  to  hurry  up,  and  thank  the  Colonel  for 
the  wonderful  opportunity  he  has  given  us  to  prac- 
tise law." 


130  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  steamer  was  approaching  the  little  rickety 
wharf,  the  bells  clanged,  and  the  propellers  suddenly 
reversed  and  thrashed.  The  entire  population  of 
Port  Hatch  was  there  to  meet  them.  Skag  and 
Flay,  the  fishermen,  were  draped  lazily  on  a  pile 
of  lumber,  chewing  their  cuds  with  the  regularity 
of  contented  cows,  and  looking  as  though  they  had 
taken  root,  and  grown  there  for  a  great  many  years. 
Young  Lester,  still  with  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his 
eyes,  paused  from  bait-casting  to  watch  the  arrival. 
The  "nice  man  from  Iowa,"  the  man  to  whom  the 
Colonel  had  so  graciously  presented  liberal  portions 
of  land,  and  his  brother,  were  checking  up  a  lighter- 
load  of  barrels  of  merchandise.  Hubbard,  the 
author  of  the  "City  Beautiful,"  bare-headed,  with 
his  long  hair  unkempt,  and  four  or  five  days'  growth 
of  black  stubble  on  his  face,  was  the  only  citizen 
of  Port  Hatch  who  seemed  to  be  "hustling."  With 
a  pencil  behind  one  ear,  a  drawing-pen  in  his 
mouth,  and  a  huge  roll  of  plans  under  his  arm, 
he  danced  nervously  around  the  end  of  the  dock 
while  The  Golden  Eagle  was  throwing  out  her  gang- 
plank. Up  in  the  bow,  the  Colonel,  surrounded  by 
a  wide-eyed,  interested  group,  had  reverently  doffed 
his  hat,  and  was  making  a  speech. 

"Fellow  passengers,"  he  was  saying,  "I  call  your 
attention  to  what  is  destined  to  be  the  most  glorious 
city  the  world  has  ever  known.  And  then,  with  an 
air  of  profound  modesty,  he  added:  "It  has  the 
honor  to  bear  my  name.  It  is  called  Port  Hatch. 
Being  as  you  are  all  wayfarers,  I  thought  it 
would  be  of  interest  to  you,  sometime,  to  be  able 
to  say  to  your  children,  and  your  grand-children, 
and  your  great-grand-children,  that  you  had  seen 
the  proud  city   of  Port  Hatch  in  its  infancy.     I 


THE  BOOMERS.  131 

trust  that  jou  will  remember  it  kindly,  and  that — " 

"Say!  ain't  you  a-goin'  to  get  off  here,  Colonel 
Hatch?"  a  rude  voice  bellowed  through  a  mega- 
phone from  the  bridge;  and  the  Colonel  paused. 
"We're  about  to  pull  in  the  gang-plank,  and  are 
waitin'  on  you,"  the  rude  voice  continued  grumpily, 

"Bless  my  soul!"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  frantic- 
ally running  toward  the  gang-way,  with  his  coat- 
tails  flapping  around  his  long,  skinny  legs.  But, 
even  under  that  stress,  he  did  not  forget  to  be 
courteous.  He  stood  on  the  stringer  of  the  wharf, 
thrust  one  hand  into  the  breast  of  his  "Prince 
Albert,"  removed  his  big  slouch  hat  with  the  other, 
and  repeatedly  bowed  a  gracious  farewell  to  his 
erstwhile  auditors  as  The  Golden  Eagle  swiftly 
drew  away  from  the  most  magnificent  city  of  the 
world. 

The  Colonel  was  almost  dazed  with  astonishment 
when  he  turned  around.  The  wharf  and  the  land 
adjoining  suddenly  became  populous.  Burmah 
Jones,  with  his  hat  planted  determinedly  on  the  back 
of  his  head,  jumped  here  and  there,  answered  ques- 
tions, and  gave  orders  like  a  general.  The 
Colonel,   slightly  bewildered,   hastened  to   him. 

"Where — where — say,  Burmah,  where  did  all 
these  men  come  from?"  he  questioned. 

"Come  from.  Colonel?"  replied  Burmah.  "Why, 
don't  you  remember  telling  me  we  ought  to  have 
at  least  five  carpenters  and  a  couple  or  three  stone- 
masons and  all  the  laborers  I  could  get?"  The 
Colonel's  jaw  dropped  in  sheer  amazement.  Hav- 
ing never  so  much  as  mentioned  anything  of  the 
kind,  it  was  quite  natural  that  he  should  not  re- 
member.    But  he  rallied  bravely. 

"It  sort  of  slipped  my  memory,"  he  said;  "but 


182  THE  BOOMERS. 

I  suppose  I  must  have  suggested  something  of  the 
sort.  You're  quite  right,  Sir.  You  are  the  most 
invaluable  assistant  I  ever  had  in  any  of  my  great 
enterprises." 

"I  could  only  get  a  hundred  laborers,"  Bur- 
mah  hastened  to  add,  "and  they'll  be  up  on  the 
next  boat,  due  here  in  about  an  hour.  Got  a  spe- 
cial rate  for  them — chartered  an  old  tub  to  bring 
'em.  Lot  cheaper.  And,  by  the  way,  you  didn't 
mention  it,  but  I  thought  best  to  have  'em  bring 
a  big  tent  to  sleep  and  eat  in,  and  some  picks  and 
shovels  and  scrapers,  and  six  teams  of  horses." 

"How  thoughtless  of  me!"  said  the  Colonel. 
"I'm  glad  you  attended  to  it.  But — say !"  he  cupped 
both  hands,  bent  his  tall  form  over  until  he  could 
whisper  in  Burmah's  ear.  "How  in  the  deuce  are 
we  ever  going  to  pay  for  all  this?" 

"Pay  for  it?  Humph!  That's  nothin',  Colonel, 
I  hired  them  by  the  month,"  placidly  replied  Bur- 
mah,  and  then,  desperately  afraid  that  the  Colonel 
might  ask  more  questions  of  a  similar  embarrassing 
nature,  he  made  a  pretext  to  rush  forward  to  Ara- 
bella, who  was  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  land 
surrounded  by  her  four  admirers,  each  of  whom 
still  held  his  bright  new  tin  sign  under  his  arm. 
Even  Burmah's  self-possession  was  jarred  by  the 
sight  of  these  inscriptions. 

"What  in  the  d — ?"  he  burst  out,  then  checked 
himself,  and  smiled  sweetly. 

"That's  fine,"  he  commented.  "If  there's  any  one 
thing  the  city  of  Port  Hatch  is  goin'  to  need,  it's 
plenty  of  lawyers.  Welcome  to  our  city,  gentle- 
men. We'll  start  building  a  court-house  right  away. 
A  town  without  a  court-house  ain't  no  good,  nohow  I" 
And  then  he  suddenly  fell  to  bossing  his  gang. 


'But  how  the  deuce  are  we  ever  going  to  pay  for  all  this?' 
exclaimed  the  Colonel, 


?""!i    ^   t  *  *   'c! 


THE  BOOMERS.  183 

The  Colonel  had  succeeded  in  arresting  that  danc- 
ing dervish,  Hubbard,  and  was  now  triumphantly 
dragging  him  forward  to  be  introduced.  All  around 
them  the  bustling  confusion  increased  as  Burmah's 
men  began  carrying  the  lumber  off  to  a  spot  where 
he  had  decided  to  erect  a  temporary  structure,  to 
house  the  officers  of  the  Port  Hatch  Land  Com- 
pany. Above  all  this  clamor  the  Colonel's  voice 
rose  flamboyantly. 

"Arabella,"  said  the  Colonel,  gallantly,  "I  crave 
permission  to  introduce  to  you  the  world-famous 
originator  and  author  of  the  'City  Beautiful,'  who 
is  to  make  this  scene  blossom  like  a  rose.  This 
young  man  had  kindly  loaned  us  his  wonderful 
talent,  and  genius,  in  direction  of  our  artistic 
endeavor.  Mr.  Hubbard,  this  is  my  daughter,  Miss 
Arabella  Hatch." 

Hubbard,  the  derelict,  became  a  polished  gentle- 
man once  more,  and  no  queen's  courtier  could  have 
made  a  more  deferential  or  graceful  bow.  The 
members  of  the  quartet,  young  and  inexperienced 
as  they  were,  recognized  in  Hubbard  an  enthusiast 
and  a  dreamer,  and  were  really  glad  to  know  him. 

Arabella  watched  him  curiously,  and  felt  a  little 
more  hopeful,  for,  peculiar  as  he  appeared,  she 
intuitively  divined  that  in  Hubbard  was  competency 
that  would  probably  qualify  him  for  a  great  task. 
More  than  ever  was  she  convinced  of  this  when  he 
led  them  to  his  working  tent,  and  unfolded  the  plans 
over  which  he  had  worked  night  and  day  as  his 
dream  of  an  examplary  city  unfolded  and  grew. 
Forgetful  of  all  else,  he  enthused  as  he  explained, 
and  became  eloquent  as  he  pointed  out  his  plans. 
That  his  schemes  involved  the  expenditure  of  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  meant  nothing  to  him, 


134  THE  BOOMERS. 

for  quite  literally  he  had  obeyed  Burmah  Jones' 
instructions  to  "turn  himself  loose." 

Here  on  this  spot  was  to  be  the  public  library, 
there  the  city  hall ;  here  was  to  be  the  public  market, 
over  there  at  the  base  of  the  clffs  the  free  baths; 
and  here  at  the  back  of  the  town  was  where  the 
little  river  would  be  dammed  for  a  reservoir  which 
should  supply  Port  Hatch  with  water.  Those  lines 
extending  to  the  far  side  of  the  peninsula  indicated 
the  sewage  system,  for,  above  all  things,  the  "City 
Beautiful"  was  to  be  sanitary.  Those  red  spots 
with  little  marks  in  them  indicated  lands  that  would 
be  given  away  for  church  buildings.  At  this  point, 
the  Colonel  exercised  his  prerogative  as  founder 
and  employer  to  offer  an  objection. 

"What  did  you  say  that  spot  there  was.''"  asked 
the  Colonel,  reading  with  his  glasses  on  his  nose. 
"Unitarian  Church,  eh?  Well  please  rub  that  out. 
There  isn't  going  to  be  any  church  in  Port  Hatch 
that  don't  believe  in  hell,"  announced  the  Colonel, 
and  for  an  instant  he  threatened  to  preach  a  ser- 
mon. But  the  author  of  the  "City  Beautiful"  inter- 
fered by  hastening  onward  with  his  discourse. 

"This  spot, ,  here  on  the  headland,"  he  said 
modestly,  "is  the  one  that  would  be  my  personal 
selection  for  your  residence,  Sir.  I  have  the  plans 
and  elevation  for  a  home,  which  I  should  be  glad 
to  place  at  your  service — a  house  that  could  find 
no  more  admirable  setting." 

The  Colonel's  eagerness  was  no  greater  now  than 
that  of  Arabella,  who  clapped  her  hands  joyously 
and  said: 

"Please  show  it.     Please  do,  Mr.  Hubbard." 

Hubbard  went  over  to  a  corner,  and,  somewhat 
diffidently,  drew  forth  a  large  tin  case  from  beneath 


THE  BOOMERS.  135 

his  cot,  and  selected  therefrom  a  roll  of  drawings. 
Arabella  and  the  Colonel  were  enraptured.  The 
quartet  leaned  over  their  shoulders  to  share  in  the 
inspection.  It  was  Tommy  who  suddenly  smoothed 
down  the  corner,  and  exposed  an  inscription  thereon. 

"Why,  what's  this?"  he  asked;  and  then  read: 
"Awarded  a  gold  medal  at  the  seventeenth  annual 
exhibition  of  the  American  Architectural  Society." 

The  derelict  suddenly  blushed  a  furious  red,  and 
was  distressed. 

"Yes,  I  drew  it,"  he  said,  somewhat  sorrowfully, 
as  if  it  recalled  high  hopes  and  promise  of  a  youth 
that  had  been  squandered  in  dissipating.  But  he 
gave  them  no  time  for  comment,  and  spoke  rapidly, 
as  if  eager  to  prevent  them  from  asking  questions. 
"Such  a  residence,  with  some  modifications,  if  you 
do  not  care  for  a  building  of  such  large  propor- 
tions, could  be  erected  for  a  sum  not  exceeding 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars." 

"By  George!  Can  it?"  exclaimed  the  Colonel. 
"Mr.  Hubbard,  Sir,  you're  a  genius.  We'll  com- 
mence building  that  house  this  very  afternoon. 
Marvelous,  Sir — marvelous !" 

He  suddenly  whirled  around,  unable  to  suppress 
his  enthusiasm,  and  seized  Arabella  in  his  arms. 

"It  shall  be  a  place  fit  for  a  queen,  the  queen  of 
my  heart — you,  Arabella!"  he  shouted,  fondly. 
"We'll  go  right  up  there  now,  and  look  at  it.  Come 
on,  everybody !"  and  he  plunged  excitedly  out  of  the 
tent,  with  Hubbard,  Arabella  and  the  lawyers,  still 
carrying  their  tin  signs,  following  behind  him. 
Little  Billy  recovered  sufficiently  to  hide  his  sign 
under  a  pile  of  lumber,  and  in  the  succeeding  minute 
the  other  three  friends  placed  their's  to  keep  his 
company. 


136  THE  BOOMERS. 

Up  to  the  headland  they  went,  and  whatever  dis- 
appointment Arabella  had  felt  at  not  discovering 
the  city,  which  the  Colonel  so  ably  had  pictured 
from  his  imagination,  vanished  as  she  stood  there 
on  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the  world, 
and  looked  down  at  the  sound  far  below.  Thie 
peninsula  came  to  a  sharp  point,  lofty  and  rugged. 
From  the  site  chosen  for  the  house,  they  could  see 
the  sound  on  three  sides,  and  the  land's  end  seemed 
like  a  great  tongue  descending  from  the  mountain 
behind.  It  came  in  a  gradual  sweep,  forming  gently 
a  long  flat.  To  her  inexperienced  eyes  it  appeared 
beautifully  wooded.  To  one  side,  far  below,  she 
could  see  the  tiny  wharf,  with  men  working  upon 
it  like  pygmies  intent  on  some  foolish  task.  A 
black  steamer,  with  a  plume  of  smoke  from  its 
single  stack,  was  coming  slowly  in,  and  Arabella 
surmised  that  this  must  be  the  one  carrying  the 
little  army  of  invaders  hired  by  Burmah  Jones  to 
begin  the  task  of  making  a  city.  Far  behind  it 
came  a  small  schooner,  with  sails  drawing  and  decks 
piled  high  with  lumber.  Arabella  did  not  know  that 
the  man  from  Iowa  was  seizing  time  by  the  fore- 
lock, and  that  within  a  short  time  Port  Hatch  would 
have  a  real  lumber-yard.  Out  in  the  distance, 
another  steamer,  huge  and  majestic,  but  appearing 
small  from  the  height  on  which  they  stood,  drew 
and  fascinated  the  girl's  gaze.  Brought  up  inland, 
the  sea  and  its  ships  charmed  her,  and  now  she 
excitedly  called  the  attention  of  her  companions  to 
that  swift-moving  shape. 

"That  is  one  of  the  Japanese  liners.  Miss  Hatch," 
volunteered  Hubbard,  after  looking  at  it  a  moment. 
*'Outward  bound  for  the  Orient." 

"And  some  day,"  asserted  the  Colonel,  "she  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  137 

l\  all  of  her  class  will  stop  here,  as  well  as  at  Seattle. 

Then  there  will  be  immense  docks  down  there  below 
us,  to  which  the  railway  will  bring  the  wheat  and 
the  lumber  from  the  interior,  and  pour  them  out 
for  transport.  Have  you  worked  on  the  dock  plans 
any,  as  yet,  Mr.  Hubbard?" 

"Only  roughly,"  answered  the  engineer,  gravely. 
"That  is  too  important  a  matter  to  be  taken  up 
carelessly.  It  is  difficult  to  combine  beauty  and 
utility  in  docks,  and  we  must  make  them  perfect." 

The  arrivals  from  Chattanooga  took  heart.  It 
was  impossible  to  come  in  contact  with  such  men 
as  they  had  met  thus  far,  and  not  begin  to  have  a 
hazy  belief  that  possibly,  after  all,  there  was  some- 
thing besides  an  air-castle  in  this  undertaking. 
Confidence  is  contagious.  The  sublime  faith  of 
these  persons  that  they  were  really  creating  a  won- 
derful city  was  convincing.  And  why  not  a  wonder- 
ful city.?  Here  was  as  beautiful  a  site  as  could  be 
found,  a  site  looking  out  upon  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  sounds  in  all  the  great  world  of 
waters.  A  great  Transcontinental  railway  was 
expected  to  make  this  city  its  terminus.  Hubbard, 
impractical  in  finance,  but  highly  developed  as  a 
man  with  an  ideal,  knew  nothing  save  that  he  had 
been  rescued  from  a  bar-room,  and  given  unre- 
strained liberty  to  plan  this  place  to  the  fashioning 
of  his  dream.  He  was  desperately  intent  on  prov- 
ing to  the  world  that  had  not  previously  given  him 
a  chance,  that  he  could  create  an  ideal  city,  and  he 
worked  the  more  tirelessly  in  that,  at  the  same  time 
as  he  labored,  he  was  having  the  supreme  battle  of 
his  life  in  the  conquering  of  his  appetite. 

"How  much  of  this  land  do  you  own.  Colonel?" 
inquired  Kirby,  looking  off  toward  the  mountain. 


138  THE  BOOMERS. 

"By  Jingoes !  I  don't  know.  I  never  thought 
of  that  part  of  it,"  admitted  the  Colonel. 

But  he  was  saved  a  too  deplorable  show  of  igno- 
rance by  Hubbard,  who  quietly  answered: 

"The  Colonel's  farthest  boundary  line  is  the  crest 
of  that  range  of  mountains  you  see  back  there, 
extending  completely  around  the  shores  of  the  bay, 
and  including  this  entire  peninsula. 

"Why,  how  splendid!"  exclaimed  Arabella,  and 
the  unsophisticated  young  men  from  Chattanooga 
looked  at  the  Colonel  deferentially;  for  here,  indeed, 
was  a  great  landed  proprietor.  Land  values  to 
them  were  measured  by  the  standards  of  the  South, 
where  every  foot  was  valuable,  and  they  did  not 
understand  that  the  land  whereon  they  stood,  save 
for  timber  or  town-site  purposes,  could  be  had 
almost  as  a  gift. 

They  must  write  back  to  the  home  folk,  and  tell 
them  what  this  marvelous  man  had  accomplished, 
this  distinguished  man  from  Chattanooga,  who  had 
so  bravely  met  misfortune,  and  gone  West  to  con- 
quer a  savage  world.  They  must  let  the  folk 
know  that  pioneering  was  the  real  man's  life,  and 
that  Chattanooga  had  other  pioneers  besides 
Colonel  Hatch  and  his  daughter.  The  wine  of 
enthusiasm,  poured  out  so  lavishly  in  the  first 
instance  by  that  rare  romancer,  Burmah  Jones,  was 
mounting  to  their  heads. 

In  the  meanwhile,  one  of  the  pygmies  down  on 
the  wharf,  the  one  in  shirt-sleeves  and  silk  hat,  was 
driving  his  men  as  many  of  them  had  never  before 
been  driven.  Already  he  was  displaying  his  splen- 
did capacity  for  organization.  He  had  appointed 
a  foreman  of  carpenters,  a  foreman  for  the  labor- 
ing gang,  a  time-keeper,  and  had  started  them  to 


THE  BOOMERS.  189 

work  on  the  rough  building  that  was  to  serve  as 
an  office  and  field  headquarters,  and  now  he  was 
impatiently  waiting,  on  the  end  of  the  dock,  for 
the  steamer  bearing  his  laborers  and  outfit  to  pull 
in.  Scarcely  had  she  landed  when  he  was  urging 
them  to  "hustle,"  and,  that  no  time  might  be  lost, 
he  hastened  up  to  Hubbard's  tent,  and  looked 
around  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  genius  on  whom 
the  Colonel  depended. 

The  tent's  being  empty  was  proof  enough  that 
Hubbard  was  not  there;  so  Burmah  stepped  to  the 
fly,  and,  with  a  shout  like  the  lower  register  of 
a  calliope,  called  Hubbard's  name. 

"I  think,"  said  a  calm  voice  almost  at  his  shoulder, 
"you  will  find  that  your  man  is  somewhere  out  on 
the  point,  making  preparations  to  build  a  castle." 

"Eh.?"  said  Burmah,  whirling  around,  to  dis- 
cover the  placid  Mr.  Lester  calmly  leaning  against 
a  tent  pole  and  smoking  a  much  browned  pipe. 
"Oh,  it's  you,  is  it.?^"  he  added,  and  then  walked 
over  until  he  confronted  that  young  gentleman. 
"Say,  what  do  you  think  of  this  'City  Beautiful' 
stuff.?     It's  all  tripe  to  me!" 

For  a  full  half-minute  Lester  stared  at  him,  and 
Burmah  could  not  decide  during  that  time  exactly 
what  caused  the  look  of  half-merriment  that  was 
plainly  depicted  on  Lester's  face. 

"What  do  I  think  of  it.?  I  think  just  this: 
that  Hubbard,  in  his  way,  is  the  sanest  man  that 
has  ever  landed  on  Squaw  Point.  He  knows  what  he 
wants  to  do,  and  he's  going  after  it.  Colonel  Hatch 
is  a  lovely  old  dreamer;  but,  as  far  as  you're  con- 
cerned, I'll  bet  a  dollar  to  a  five-cent  piece,  that 
all  in  the  world  you're  after  is  the  money." 


140  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmah  eyed  him  admiringly. 

"Well,"  he  said,  with  the  utmost  good-nature, 
"you're  not  the  plain  fool  that  I  took  you  for. 
You  do  look  like  one,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  figure 
out,  the  chief  reason  you've  lived  here  so  long  is 
that  you're  too  lazy  to  keep  the  flies  oflP  yourself. 
No  hard  feelin's — understand?  It's  every  man's 
right  to  think  what  he  blamed  well  pleases  of  another 
man.  I've  told  you  what  I  think  of  you,  and  I  never 
have  lost  any  sleep  over  what  anybody  thought  of  me." 

For  an  instant,  Lester  straightened  himself,  and 
there  was  an  angry  flash  in  his  eyes;  but  Burmah, 
with  a  laugh  devoid  of  any  malice,  turned  away 
from  him,  and  trudged  back  toward  the  gang  of 
men  that  was  waiting  for  further  instructions. 

"You  can  fall-to  on  that  beach  there,  the  first 
thing,"  he  ordered,  "grub  out  those  saplings  on  the 
hillside,  until  I  can  find  the  fellow  I'm  looking  for. 
And  keep  'em  at  it.  I'm  not  going  to  have  a  hundred 
men  drawing  wages  here  for  one  minute  unless  they 
do  somethin'  for  it.  If  you  get  that  done  before  I 
get  back,  give  'em  each  a  tin  cup,  send  'em  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  let  'em  see  if  they  can  empty 
this  ocean."  After  which,  he  trudged  hurriedly 
away  in  quest  of  the  author  of  the  "City  Beautiful." 

He  had  nearly  gained  a  half-way  mark  on  the 
hill,  puffing  and  dripping,  before  he  paused  to  rest. 
Lamenting  his  rotundity,  he  sat  down  on  a  boulder 
to  recover  his  breath,  ran  a  shirt-sleeve  over  his  wet 
forehead,  removed  his  hat,  and  looked  below  to  where 
his  little  army  was  spreading  out.  The  ring  of 
axes,  as  the  swarm  of  laborers  cleared  away  the  scrub 
timber  that  encroached  upon  the  beach,  came  faintly 
up  to  his  ears. 


THE  BOOMERS.  141 

"That,"  he  thought  to  himself,  "is  just  wasted 
labor.  The  suckers  that  buy  land  here  are  the  ones 
that  ought  to  be  payin'  for  that ;  but  I'll  be  hanged 
if  I'm  goin'  to  show  the  white  feather  for  two  hundred 
a  day,  and  that's  just  about  what  that  bunch  of 
sheep-herders  are  supposed  to  be  gettin'." 

Casting  his  eye  out  toward  the  end  of  the  wharf, 
something  else  attracted  his  observation.  It  was  the 
schooner,  laden  with  lumber  for  the  man  from  Iowa. 
He  clapped  his  hat  on  his  head  with  an  air  of  deter- 
mination, and  scowled,  even  as  the  deck-hands  were 
lowering  away  a  boat  to  bring  a  stern  line  to  the 
wharf  that  he  had  caused  to  be  constructed.  He 
forget  his  breathlessness,  and  succumbed  to  a  slow 
indignation. 

"They're  goin'  to  get  their  land  for  nothin',  arc 
they?"  he  said  to  himself,  with  a  slow  grin.  And 
then :  "Well,  I  guess  not." 

Abruptly  he  retraced  his  steps  down  the  steep 
declivity,  heedless  of  boulders,  and  fallen  logs  that 
obstructed  his  path,  and  toddled  as  fast  as  his  short 
legs  would  permit  out  on  the  wharf  to  where  the 
"nice  men  from  Iowa"  were  waiting  to  begin  the 
unloading  of  their  cargo. 

"Say,"  he  blurted  to  the  nearest,  "you're  the  man 
who  is  goin'  to  open  a  lumber-,  coal-  and  feed-yard 
here,  ain't  you.'*  I'm  William  Burmah  Jones,  Colonel 
Hatch's  partner. 

"No,  I'm  the  man  that's  goin'  to  open  the  hard- 
Ware  store,"  was  the  reply.  Todd  is  my  name.  I'm 
J.  P.     My  brother's  J.  W." 

"Then  it's  J.  W.  I  want  to  talk  to,"  said  Burmah, 
and  promptly  turned  away  to  the  other  man. 

"J.  W."  was  a  cadaverous-looking  individual,  with 


142  THE  BOOMERS. 

high  cheek-bones,  a  nose  like  a  wandering  minstrel, 
and  pig  eyes.  Burmah  quickly  catalogued  him. 
Honesty  and  acquisitiveness  were  portrayed  on  J. 
W.'s  face. 

"Hey,"  began  the  Kansan,  "there  seems  to  be  some 
mistake  here.  Why  are  you  landing  lumber  on  my 
wharf?" 

J.  W.  hastened  to  explain,  while  Burmah  assumed 
an  appearance  of  perturbation. 

"There  seems  to  be  some  sort  of  mix-up,"  he  de- 
clared, with  a  vast  sorrow  on  his  fat  face.  "To 
begin  with,  I  understand  the  Colonel  gave  you  the 
wrong  number  on  some  lots.  That  place,  where  he 
told  you  you  could  plant  your  lumber-yard,  isn't 
open  at  all.  I  told  the  Pacific  and  Oriental  Steam- 
ship Company  they  could  have  that  for  a  dock  more 
than  three  months  ago."  He  lied  with  the  engaging 
candor  of  a  child. 

The  two  men  from  Iowa  began  a  loud  and  violent 
protest;  but  they  were  checked  by  the  fat  man,  who 
snapped  his  fingers  in  their  faces. 

"Say,"  he  bawled,  with  an  abrupt  pretense  of 
anger,  "what  did  you  fellows  expect  for  nothin'.'* 
Don't  you  know  that  every  foot  of  this  water-front 
down  here  is  goin'  to  be  worth  from  two  to  five  hun- 
dred dollars  a  front  foot,  within  the  next  six  months.?* 
You  didn't  think  that  the  Colonel  meant  to  present 
you  with  fifteen  thousand  dollars  worth  of  property 
in  order  to  get  a  dinky  little  lumber-yard  up  here,  did 
you?  Why,  he's  tryin'  to  be  your  friend!  He's 
givin'  you  a  chance.  He's  lettin'  you  in  on  the 
ground  floor.  The  land  that  he  meant  is  off  up 
there  in  the  tide  flat.  What  is  the  lot  that  you 
thought  he  gave  you?" 


THE  BOOMERS.  143 

The  brothers  from  Iowa  hastily  consulted 
memorandum  books. 

"Lots  A,  217,  to  A,  230,"  they  asserted. 

"Oh,  I  see  how  that  is,"  calmly  asserted  Burmah, 
consulting  an  absolutely  blank  page  in  a  memoran- 
dum book,  which  he  took  from  his  own  pocket.  "You 
simply  made  a  mistake  in  the  letter.  What  the 
Colonel  said,  was  that  he'd  give  you  lots  K-217  to  30, 
they're  the  ones  away  back  up  yonder." 

The  place  to  which  he  pointed  at  that  hour  of  the 
day  was  on  a  sloping  beach  that  lay  flat  and  glisten- 
ing in  the  sunlight.  The  brothers  from  Iowa  shaded 
their  eyes  with  their  hands,  and  stared  at  it.  De- 
spair was  on  their  faces. 

"Why,  it  would  cost  two  or  three  thousand  dollars 
to  build  a  wharf  up  there,"  J.  W.  asserted  gloomily. 

"But  what  do  you  expect.?"  demanded  Burmah. 
And  then  he  suddenly  became  the  suave  and  seductive 
dealer  in  real-estate.  "You  gentlemen  seem  to  over- 
look the  fact  that  you  get  the  first  lumber-yard,  and 
the  first  hardware  store,  in  what  is  bound  to  be  one 
of  the  biggest  cities  in  the  whole  North-west.  You 
get  a  chance  to  make  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars here,  and  now  you  stand  airound,  like  a  pair 
of  kids,  full  of  green  apples  and  screamin'  for  pare- 
goric, all  because  there's  been  a  little  mistake  made 
on  your  part." 

"But  we've  got  a  schooner  load  of  lumber,  and 
enough  stuiff  to  stock  a  small  hardware  store,  right 
here,  now,  and  no  place  to  put  it,"  screamed  J.  W., 
as  if  in  acute  pain. 

Burmah  Jones  was  the  soul  of  sympathy.  He 
threatened  to  do  anything,  from  tendering  his  own 
purse,  to  weeping  on  the  brother's  shoulders. 


144  THE  BOOMERS. 

"It's  too  bad,"  he  almost  wailed.  "It's  too  badi" 
And  then  he  suddenly  brightened.  "But  say,  you 
didn't  blow  in  all  the  money  you've  got,  did  you, 
on  this  stock?" 

The  Todd  Brothers,  carried  by  storm,  admitted 
that  they  had  some  money  left. 

"Then,"  said  Burmah  cheerfully,  "you  can  afford 
to  pay  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  land  up  there  at 
that  corner  of  the  cove,  where  there  is  deep  water,  and 
I  will  see  that  you  get  it,  even  if  I  have  to  take  more 
out  of  my  own  pocket  to  make  good." 

It  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  brought  to  bear  more 
persuading  magnetism  and  eloquence  than  he  poured 
out  on  the  Todd  Brothers  within  the  next  hour  and  a 
half.  But,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  he  had  mag- 
nanimously permitted  them  to  unload  their  schooner, 
and  temporarily  use  the  spot  cleared  by  the  laborers 
on  the  beach,  and  had  in  his  pocket  a  thousand  dollars 
in  cash,  and  a  ninety-day  note  for  three  thousand 
additional. 

"Well,"  he  remarked  to  himself,  complacently,  as 
he  watched  Hubbard,  Arabella,  the  Colonel,  and  the 
quartet  descending  the  trail,  "this  reminds  me  of  a 
thing  that  used  to  be  in  my  copy  book  at  school: 
'Count  that  day  lost  whose  low-descending  sun  views 
o'er  thy  work  without  some  worthy  person  done.' " 


CHAPTER  XI. 

YET  THE  KNAVE  BESTS  NOT. 

"This  Port  Hatch,  I  want  to  tell  you  fellers,  is  no 
joke,"  asserted  Burmah  Jones,  addressing  the  four 
young  lawyers  from  Chattanooga  in  the  privacy  of 
the  new  office  the  following  morning,  after  their  re- 
turn to  Seattle.  "It's  the  biggest  opportunity  that 
was  ever  offered  to  a  bunch  of  people  to  make  money. 
Now,  if  you  fellers  have  got  anything,  you  want  to 
get  busy.  I'm  a  lot  older  than  any  of  you,  and  I'm 
no  financial  shark.  I  don't  know  nothin'  about  it, 
except  this:  that  there's  a  ten-to-one  bet  that  it's 
goin'  to  be  the  big  railway  town  of  the  North-west, 
outside  of  Seattle;  also,  that  the  Colonel  would  nat- 
urally favor  you  more  than  anyone  else  in  the 
world.  He'd  let  you  in  on  the  ground  floor  of  every- 
thing. He  told  me  so ;  but  said  I  wasn't  to  influence 
you.  I'm  not.  I'm  just  tellin'  you  that,  if  you 
have  any  money  loose,  you  want  to  get  aboard  before 
it's  too  late.  You  can  buy  land  now  for  five  hundred 
a  lot  that  will  be  worth  five  thousand  before  this 
year  slides  out.  And  that  ain't  all !  You  owe  it  to 
yourselves,  the  Colonel,  Chattanooga,  and  Miss  Ara- 
bella, to  take  hold." 

He  paused  impressively,  and  the  four  young  men, 
who  were  lounging  around  in  attentive  attitudes, 
nodded  briskly  to  show  that  they  were  ready  to  da 
the  "taking  hold"  as  soon  as  a  place  for  a  grip 
should  be  exposed. 

"Listen !"  Burmah  went  on,  in  a  confidential  tone, 
after  glancing  around  the  room  as  if  about  to  expose 

145 


146  THE  BOOMERS. 

a  secret  that  must  not  pass  beyond  them.  "Colonel 
Hatch  is  one  of  the  greatest  financial  geniuses  that 
this  country  has  ever  known.  He  sees  away  off 
three  or  four  miles,  while  the  rest  of  us  are  like 
sprinters  at  a  country  fair,  lookin'  at  the  white 
tape  just  fifty  yards  up  the  track.  It's  up  to  us  to 
do  the  short  distances,  and  let  him  advise  us  for  the 
big  finish.     Now,  are  you  with  me.'^" 

"We  are,"  they  asserted  in  solemn  chorus.  Show 
us  how?" 

"Got  any  money?"  asked  Burmah,  cautiously. 
"For,  if  you  have,  you  ought  to  take  advantage  of 
this  chance." 

The  members  of  the  Chattanooga  contingent 
looked  at  him  earnestly,  and  then  at  one  another. 

"I  could  take  a  few  lots,"  asserted  Little  Billy, 
fumbling  in  his  pocket  for  a  cheque-book. 

"Me,  too,"  asserted  Tommy,  not  to  be  outdone 
in  this  great  work  of  boosting  Port  Hatch. 

"First  come,  first  served,"  cheerfully  asserted 
Burmah,  striving  hard  to  keep  his  gratification 
masked,  and  looking  expectantly  at  Pick,  who  could 
not  stand  the  pressure,  and  announced  that  he,  too, 
would  like  to  have  at  least  two  lots;  but  Kirby  re- 
fused to  declare  himself,  and  sat  quietly.  Burmah's 
eyes  gleamed  a  little  savagely,  but  he  made  no  com- 
ment on  Kirby's  hesitancy. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  stepping  to  the  wall,  and 
un-rolling  the  set  of  plats  that  he  had  brought 
back  from  Hubbard's  work  tent.  "Now,  if  you 
want  my  advice,  I  shall  say  that  this  part  here" — 
he  indicated  with  a  fat  forefinger — "will  probably 
be  the  main  business  street.  Indeed,  I  shall  tell  you 
in  confidence  that  it  is  Mr.  Hubbard's  plan  to  induce 


THE  BOOMERS.  147 

merchants  to  build  up  here,  so  that  the  beach  land, 
down  there,  can  be  sold  for  warehouses,  factories, 
piers,  ship-yards  and  all  that.  If  I  were  like  you 
fellers  are,  I'd  own  all  that  land  up  there  on  Main 
Street.  There's  where  the  contract  for  pavin'  is 
let.  It'll  be  the  first  street  paved  in  the  town.  Now, 
how  many  lots  do  each  of  you  want  ?" 

With  the  exception  of  Kirby,  they  all  invested, 
and  the  real-estate  agent  calmly  pasted  little  red 
tags,  reading  "Sold",  on  each  one  as  picked  out. 
Kirby  still  held  back  as  if  sceptical;  but  Burmah 
Jones  did  not  even  look  at  him.  Far  be  it  from  Bur- 
mah to  coax  anyone  to  buy  land  in  Port  Hatch! 
From  their  wallets,  the  three  purchasers  drew  out 
their  drafts  and  certified  cheques,  and  gravely  made 
their  first  venture.  Into  the  capacious  wallet  of 
Burmah  Jones  went  the  narrow  slips  of  paper. 

"Now,"  he  said,  briskly.  "I  shall  see  to  it  that 
your  deeds  are  forthcomin'  at  once,  and  in  the  time 
it  takes  to  get  'em  ready  you  shall  have  my  receipt." 

"Oh,  never  mind  that.  Mister  Jones;  we  trust 
you.  The  Colonel's  introduction  is  enough  for  me," 
stoutly  asserted  Tommy,  and  into  this  chorus  joined 
Pick  and  Little  Billy,  while  Kirby  began  to  feel  like 
an  outsider,  but  was  still  too  cautious  to  venture. 
Burmah  observed  the  thin-drawn  scowl  on  Kirby's 
eyebrows,  and  decided  that  this  young  man  might 
give  trouble,  and  began  placing  mental  sentinels  on 
guard.  Privately,  he  had  learned  that  Kirby  was 
the  wealthiest  of  the  young  men  from  Chattanooga; 
hence  he  rather  resented  that  Kirby  did  not  "chip 
into"  this  jack-pot  that  he  was  so  carefully  arrang- 
ing. But  not  so  much  as  a  quiver  of  an  eye-lash  be- 
trayed this  distrust. 


148  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Everything  has  to  have  a  head  to  it,"  he  ob- 
served, leaning  back  and  feeling  the  crinkle  of  seven 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  drafts  and  cheques  in  his 
pocket.  It's  only  right  that  you  young  men  should 
get  in  with  me  now,  and  boostin's  what  makes  the 
globe  whirl.  If  there  warn't  somethin'  to  keep  it 
rollin',  it  might  drop  out  through  space,  and  be- 
come as  dead  as  the  moon.  So,  as  I'm  the  one  that's 
doin'  all  the  hirin',  under  the  Colonel's  suggestions, 
I'm  goin'  to  say  somethin'  more.  There'll  be  no  law 
business  in  Port  Hatch  for  some  time;  but  we  need 
a  lawyer  up  there." 

The  quartet  agreed  on  this. 

"Suppose,  then,  that  we  have  Kirby  Smith  go  up 
there  and  attend  to  that.  We'll  have  an  office  built 
for  him,  right  away,  somewhere  close  to  the  offices 
of  the  Port  Hatch  Land  Company." 

Kirby  thought  this  was  very  fine;  but  the  others 
looked  glum. 

"He  can  make  his  expenses  from  his  clients," 
suavely  said  Burmah,  and  Kirby,  already  compro- 
mised by  an  acceptance,  had  to  agree,  or  appear  mean. 

"Did  I  hear  you  say,  one  day,  that  you  had  edited 
a  paper  at  the^  College?"  politely  queried  Burmah 
of  Pick. 

The  latter  proudly  asserted  that  this  was  true. 

"Then,  seein'  as  we  have  to  start  a  paper  right 
away,"  observed  Burmah,  making  industrious  mem- 
oranda with  a  pencil,  "we  must  buy  a  printin'  plant, 
and  have  Mr.  Pickett  open  the  semi-weekly  news- 
paper.    We'll  talk  about  its  name  later." 

Pick,  while  not  entirely  satisfied,  nodded,  and  not 
even  this  slight  show  of  reluctance  escaped  Uxe  sharp 
eyes  that  watched  him. 


THE  BOOMERS.  149 

"The  owner  of  the  first  newspaper  in  Port  Hatch,"^ 
observed  Burmah,  as  if  to  himself,  "has  a  big  re- 
sponsibility. An  editor  that's  any  good  i&  the 
heaviest  force  any  community  ever  gets.  Think  of 
Horace  Greeley,  and  Charley  Dana,  and  Colonel 
Blethen,"  he  said,  "and  of  all  they've  done!  Are 
you  sure  you  can  fill  the  bill?"  he  demanded  anx- 
iously of  Pick. 

Thus  put  on  his  mettle,  Pick  was  certain  that  he 
could.  And  so  Burmah  had  adroitly  arranged  to 
divert  Kirby,  who  had  not  bought  lots,  and  Pickett, 
who  had  been  the  last  to  come  forward  with  cash, 
to  scenes  other  than  those  that  might  be  too  active. 

"Well,"  assented  he,  as  if  hesitant,  "that  shall  be 
your  chance." 

He  thoughtfully  whirled  in  his  new  chair,  and 
looked  down  the  street,  as  if  coming  to  some  momen- 
tous decision.  Below  him  the  totem-pole  in  Pioneer 
Square  loomed  ancient  and  ugly.  In  that  long,  open 
space,  street-cars  whirled,  and  clamored  with  loud 
warning  bells.  Its  activity  fascinated  him,  in  spite 
of  his  efforts  at  concentration,  but  he  brought  his' 
responsive  mind  back  to  business.  Here  were  three 
young  men,  stt  least,  who  believed  in  him,  three  young 
men  starting  out  in  life,  who  trusted  to  his  general- 
ship. For  a  full  minute  he  struggled  with  a  half- 
defined  desire  to  return  them  their  money,  and  tell 
them  to  walk  out,  advising  them  that  it  was  all  but 
a  huge  joke.  Then,  habit  mastering  him,  he  went 
ahead,  inflexibly,  with  his  plans,  even  as  the  spider 
goes  steadily  forward  with  the  web  that  is  to  en- 
mesh those  venturing  too  close  to  its  industry. 

"I'm  goin'  to  offer  to  Mister  Reynolds,"  he  said, 
quietly,  "the  position  of  Secretary  and  Treasurer 


150  THE  BOOMERS. 

to  the  Port  Hatch  Land  Company — a  firm,  and  not 
a  corporation — at  a  salary  of  two  hundred  dollars 
per  month,  and  with  an  interest  in  the  stock  should 
it  be  made  a  corporation,  which  seems  possible. 

Little  Billy's  gasp  of  gratification  had  not  sub- 
sided before  Burmah  went  on  in  that  same  level  voice : 

"And  I'm  goin'  to  choose  as  General  Publicity 
Agent  for  everything  pertainin'  to  Port  Hatch,  Mr. 
Travers,  because  I  believe  that  him  and  me'll  under- 
stand that  part  of  the  game,  and  get  along  together, 
and  he  will  get  the  same  money.  Mr.  Smith  gets 
the  fees  from  the  law  business  that's  bound  to  come ; 
Mr.  Pickett  gets  the  first  newspaper  in  Port  Hatch, 
and  we  give  him  the  plant  to  start  with.  The  others 
get  salaries,  and  can  be  on  the  inside  of  what  ought 
to  make  us  all  rich.     So,  there  you  are !" 

There  was  not  one  of  them,  college-bred  as  they 
Were,  which  he  was  not,  cultured  as  they  were,  which 
he  was  not,  educated  to  dress,  which  he  was  not, 
who  could  tell  why,  when  he  made  this  flat,  uncom- 
promising statement,  they  had  no  vocal  objection 
to  offer.  All  they  knew  was  that  in  the  man  was 
some  quiet  leadership,  some  indefinable  power  that 
made  them  accept  anything  he  said  as  an  ultimatum. 
There  was  but  one  who  was  not  disappointed,  and 
that  was  Kirby  Smith,  who  had  b^en  given  his 
ambition.  Yet  Kirby  Smith  understood  that,  for  some 
reason  he  could  not  fathom,  he  had  been  squarely 
placed  outside  the  breastworks  of  profit.  He,  as 
well  as  the  others,  surmised  that,  if  they  had  arisen 
together,  and  voiced  a  protest,  this  same  fat,  badly 
dressed  man  would  have  told  them  that  he  had  no 
desire  save  to  meet  their  wishes,  and  that,  in  ac- 
cordance, he  would  immediately  present  them  with 


THE  BOOMERS.  151 

three  little  houses  in  Port  Hatch,  leaving  each  of  them 
to  recover  from  beneath  a  lumber  pile  his  brave 
shingle,  and  hang  it  fluttering  to  the  winds  to  creak 
itself  into  rusty  uselessness.  Each  would  have  been 
permitted  to  practise  law  as  best  he  might,  knowing 
all  the  time  that  this  strange,  inscrutable  man,  vulgar 
yet  Napoleonic,  would  see  to  it  that  all  business  was 
transacted  by  Seattle  lawyers.  They  did  not  in  the 
least  pause  to  consider  that  favors  had  been  be- 
stowed in  exact  proportions  to  favors  given.  Little 
Billy  had  become  the  Kansan's  right-hand  man  be- 
cause he  had  been  the  first  to  show  his  faith  with 
money;  Tommy  had  come  next  because  he  had  been 
second;  Pick  third  because  he  had  been  third;  and 
Kirby  Smith  was  cut  off  as  being  the  one  who  was 
not  amenable. 

"Now,"  the  quiet  voice  of  Burmah  went  on,  "we 
shall  each  give  the  other  feller  all  the  assistance 
we  can.  If  Mr.  Smith  has  a  library,  he  will  want 
to  send  for  it;  or,  if  he  hasn't,  he  may  want  to  find 
one  that  he  can  buy  cheap." 

There  was  a  certain  suggestive  emphasis  on  the 
last  word. 

"Mr.  Pickett  will  probably  want  to  go  out  and 
find  a  plant  for  printin'  a  newspaper.  And,  by  the 
way,  I  think  you'd  better  buy  a  linotype.  We  can't 
tell  how  soon  the  paper  will  have  to  print  a  daily 
issup." 

Pick  began  to  see  rainbows. 

"And  my  new  immediate  assistants  will  come  to 
me  this  afternoon,  so's  we  can  discuss  our  cam- 
paign," asserted  Burmah,  thus  airily  dismissing  them. 
Quite  surely,  he  was  welding  them  all  to  his  will — 
and  this  was  merely  that  he,  Burmah  Jones,  should 


152  THE  BOOMERS. 

get  all  there  was  to  be  had,  and  then  step  away, 
silently  and  gently,  always  within  the  law,  before 
the  great  air-castle  crumbled. 

They  separated,  and  Burmah  was  left  alone  to 
meditate,  and  to  arrange  his  plans.  Everything 
now  was  to  focus  upon  one  point,  to  get  action  and 
results  as  speedil;^  as  possible,  and  constantly  to 
present  an  appearance  of  sincerity.  Little  Billy's 
very  frankness,  his  bigness,  his  candid  smile,  his 
pleasant  voice,  his  taciturnity,  would  make  him  the 
ideal  man  to  meet  persons  in  the  Seattle  offices,  and 
these  talents  would  render  him  effective.  Those  who 
came  to  investigate  would  be  convinced,  and  spend 
their  money.  Tommy,  fiery,  ingenious  and  impres- 
sionable, could  be  enthused,  and  would  make  an  ideal 
press-agent.  The  only  trouble  with  him  was  that 
he  was  too  honest  to  lie  willingly.  He  must  be 
molded  to  modern  business  ideas,  which  Burmah 
Jones  was  not  alone  in  believing  consisted  of,  "No 
matter  what  the  means,  so  long  as  the  end  is  gained." 
Pick,  it  was  certain,  would  become  indefatigible  in 
whatever  he  attempted.  The  Port  Hatch  paper, 
printed  before  there  was  a  subscriber  possible  out- 
side of  Todd  Brothers,  "nice  men  from  Iowa,"  would 
be  creditable  enough  to  send  out  to  the  East  as 
advertising  matter.  It  could  be  filled  with  adver- 
tisements of  Seattle  merchants,  when  once  they  were 
convinced  that  a  certain  number  of  copies  were  to 
be  sent  broadcast,  because  nowhere  in  the  world 
had  there  been  massed  together  a  more  progressive 
set  of  men  than  those  who  wielded  the  commercial  des- 
tinies of  that  wonder  city  of  the  North-west.  And 
Kirby  Smith  ?  Hang  Kirby  Smith !  Let  him  sit  in  his 
office,  presented  gratis,  and  watch  the  town  grow 


THE  BOOMERS.  153 

beneath  his  eyes  while  he  waited  hopefully  for  a 
client. 

Burmah  was  at  the  dock  to  meet  the  Colonel  and 
Arabella  when  they  arrived,  that  he  might  be  the 
first  to  inform  the  blossoming  financier  of  the  ar- 
rangements he  had  made.  As  usual,  everything 
met  with  the  Colonel's  approval. 

"Couldn't  have  taken  care  of  my  young  friends 
better  myself,"  declared  the  Colonel.  "I  don't  see 
how  it  is  that  your  ideas  and  mine  always  run  so 
closely  together,  Burmah." 

And  the  odd  part  of  it  was  that  the  meant  it. 

"Now,"  said  Burmah,  "I  must  tell  you  something 
else.  The  boys,  all  except  Mister  Smith,  bought  lots 
on  Main  Street.  I  telephoned  the  pavin'  company, 
and  their  men  will  begin  work  there  to-morrow.  I 
telephoned  to  the  contractors  to  come  in,  and  bid  on 
your  house,  because  the  sooner  we  get  that  under 
way,  the  quicker  folks'll  know  we  mean  business.  I've 
hired  two  more  stenographers  and  a  book-keeper. 
If  you  want  me  to,  I'll  start  in  to  get  out  some  ad- 
vertisin'  matter  that  I  think  we'd  ought  to  have." 

And  to  all  this  Colonel  assented  with  alacrity. 
But  that  feature  over  which  he  enthused  most  was 
that  the  young  men  from  Chattanooga  had  evidenced 
their  faith  in  him  by  buying  lots.  He  referred  to 
this  immediately  after  he  had  reached  the  new  offices, 
seen  Arabella  depart  for  her  hotel,  and  seated  him- 
self comfortably  in  the  private  room  that  Burmah 
had  alloted  to  his  use. 

"The  lots  I  sold  them.  Colonel,"  said  Burmah, 
quietly,  "are  all  from  your  land  with  the  exception 
of  one,  which  I  believe  is  mine." 

He   reached   into   his   pocket,   and  took   out   the 


154  THE  BOOMERS. 

cheques  and  drafts,  and  laid  them  on  the  desk  before 
the  Colonel,  who  scowled  at  them,  to  appear  very 
business-like  and  cautions,  as  he  scrutinized  the  en- 
dorsements. 

"Seven  thousand  dollars,"  he  said,  as  if  hypnotized 
by  the  sum.  "Why,  that's  as  much  as  I  had  left 
when  I  came  away  from  Chattanooga." 

He  laid  the  slips  of  paper  on  the  desk,  and  whirled 
toward  the  real-estate  agent  with  a  warm  gleam  in 
his  eyes. 

"Mister  Jones — Burmah,"  he  said,  "it  isn't  fair 
for  me  to  grasp  all  this  opportunity,  Sir,  when  you 
are  the  one  who  brought  it  to  my  consideration.  No, 
Sir,  it  isn't  fair.  I  want  you  to  do  me  the  favor 
of  accepting  half  this  money  as  your  own.  I  want 
you  to  do  more  than  that.  I  want  you  to  take  half 
of  everything  that  comes  in  from  all  those  lots  we 
had  surveyed,  from  now  on." 

Burmah  had  not  expected  this  generosity.  He  had 
confidently  believed  that  by  the  use  of  diplomacy  he 
would  get  his  share  and  a  little  more  of  all  that  was 
sold ;  but  he  had  not,  in  his  wildest  moment,  hoped 
that  the  Colonel  would  offer  him  half  of  the  total 
receipts.  But  not  by  the  slightest  twitching  of  a 
muscle  did  he  display  any  emotion. 

"Thank  you.  Colonel,"  he  said,  with  beautiful 
simplicity.  "I  accept  your  offer  in  the  same  spirit 
in  which  it  is  made.  It's  a  pleasure  to  do  things 
with  the  right  man  at  the  helm,  and  you're  it." 

The  Colonel  beamed  at  this  praise,  and,  as  he 
carefully  divided  the  cheques  on  the  desk,  replied, 
with  due  modesty : 

"Making  money  is  very  easy,  after  all,  Burmah. 
It  consists  in  knowing  how.     You  have  no  idea  how 


THE  BOOMERS.  155 

long  I  studied  over  finance  after  it — ahem — became 
necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  commercial  pursuits." 

He  pocketed  the  cheques,  and  stood  up  with  an  air 
of  industry. 

"I  must  go  right  down  now,"  he  declared,  "and 
buy  some  lumber  to  build  my  house  with.  No — 
maybe  I'd  best  buy  it  off  Mr.  Todd.  A  very  nice 
man  is  Mr.  Todd.  We  must  patronize  our  home 
merchants." 

"But,  Colonel,"  objected  Burmah,  "I  telephoned 
for  some  contractors  to  come  around,  and  give  you  a 
bid  on  the  house !" 

The  Colonel  looked  at  him  blankly. 

"That's  the  best  way  to  get  'em  built,  you  know," 
Burmah  went  on,  "and  the  contractor  likes  to  buy 
his  own  material." 

"I'll  declare  I  never  thought  of  that,"  said  the 
Colonel.  "It  seems  to  me  that  down  in  Chattanooga 
'most  every  one  tends  to  all  that  himself.  Building's 
a  little  out  of  my  line." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  cheerfully,  "you  just  leave 
those  plans  you  brought,  and  let  me  talk  to  the  con- 
tractors." 

"Thank  you,  Burmah,"  replied  the  Colonel. 
"That  might  save  time.  I've  got  a  heap  of  things 
to  attend  to.    I'm  a  powerful-busy  man. 

He  promptly  departed  for  his  hotel,  from  which> 
carefully  groomed,  he  emerged  two  hours  later  to 
take  Arabella  for  a  long  drive  in  a  hired  touring 
car — this  being  the  important  business  that  occupied 
his  attention.  And  Burmah  Jones,  heavy  and  glower- 
ing, was  brow-beating  the  different  contractors  that 
had  come  at  his  behest,  and  driving  them  to  give 
quick  estimates,  and  displaying  a  knowledge  of  all 


156  THE  BOOMERS. 

the  details  of  contracting  that  compelled  the  re- 
luctant admiration  of  those  with  whom  he  wrangled. 
A  week  before  he  would  have  frankly  informed  the 
contractors,  that  he  expected  to  get  a  good  fat 
commission  for  giving  them  the  job,  and  that  they 
had  to  figure  him  in  on  the  profits ;  but  now,  with  the 
Colonel's  generosity  still  biting  into  his  mind,  he 
had  not  the  heart,  and  fought  as  valiantly  for  the 
Colonel's  interests  as  if  they  were  his  own,  and  an 
able  fighter  he  proved. 

"I'm  a  sucker  for  doin'  it,"  he  communed  with 
himself  that  evening,  after  he  had  closed  a  contract 
much  to  the  Colonel's  advantage,  "but  a  feller  can't 
be  a  hog.  That  is  a  new  way  of  play  in'  the  game 
with  me,  but  I  guess  it'll  come  out  all  right  in  the 
end,  and  that  I'll  come  pretty  near  gettin'  all  that's 
comin'  to  me." 

Then,  with  sudden  impatience,  he  added: 

"Hang  the  Colonel !  Why  in  the  devil  can't  he  do 
somethin'  mean,  or  somethin'  to  give  me  an  excuse 
to  hand  it  to  him  right?  If  he'd  only  lie  to  me,  or 
try  to  skin  me,  or  do  somethin' — 'most  anything,  so 
I  could  have  a  little  interest  in  my  work !" 

And  the  Colonel,  at  that  moment,  was  sitting  in 
a  box  at  the  Opera  House,  surrounded  by  the  four 
young  men  from  Chattanooga  and  Arabella,  all  in 
perfect  evening  dress,  and  being  pointed  out  by 
many  in  the  audience  as  the  millionaire  financier  who 
was  going  to  make  Port  Hatch  a  rival  of  the  great 
city  of  Seattle. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A   RACE    FOR   A    FORTUNE. 

BuRMAH  sat  in  his  office  in  Seattle  with  a  divided 
mind,  a  most  unusual  state  of  things  with  that  astute 
gentleman?  while  in  the  reception-room  outside  nu- 
merous prospective  clients  of  the  Port  Hatch  Land 
Company  awaited  interviews.  Some  of  these  scanned 
the  printed  matter  which  the  same  Burmah  Jones 
had  written  with  great  sapience,  for  in  response  to 
these  circulars  they  had  come  from  all  quarters  of 
the  United  States,  the  advance  guard  of  the  great 
army  of  those  who  wish  to  get  rich  quick.  There 
were  farmers  from  Illinois,  mountaineers  from  Ten- 
nessee, planters  from  Mississippi,  cattle-men  from 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a  number  of  those 
refugees  who  had  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the 
conservative  States  of  Massachuetts.,  New  York  and 
Connecticut.  The  latter  sat  stiffly  in  their  chairs 
with  a  godlike  air  of  knowledge,  supercilious  and 
thoroughly  convinced  that  outside  of  the  very  wards 
in  w:hich  they  had  lived  there  was  nothing  worth 
knowing.  These,  particularly  those  from  New 
York,  would  be  the  first  and  easiest  lambs  to  be 
shorn  by  the  Kansan.  In  his  classification,  the  next 
easiest  would  be  those  from  the  South,  while  the  cat- 
tle-men of  the  West  would  be  the  last  whose  pockets 
he  would  pick.  For  a  long  time,  his  assertion  had 
been  this: 

"Life  is  too  short  to  waste  on  the  wise  guys. 
Tbere*s  no  place  in  the  world  where  the  market  for 
gold-bjiclcs  IS  so  good  as  in  New  York,  because  in  the 

157 


158  THE  BOOMERS. 

big  jay  town  they're  too  sure  they  know  it  all  to 
ever  know  anything." 

On  the  desk  in  front  of  Mr.  Jones  lay  a  bank-book 
neatly  balanced,  its  figures  disclosing  the  fact  that 
he  had  cash  enough  on  hand  to  go  back  to  Kansas, 
and  open  a  First  National  Bank,  in  a  small  city. 
He  was  thoroughly  convinced  in  his  own  mind  that 
the  time  was  ripe  for  his  departure ;  yet,  being  a  good 
gambler,  he  was  restrained  by  the  fact  that,  in  the 
outer  waiting-room,  there  was  more  money  to  be 
had  through  his  never  failing  and  constantly  seduc- 
tive line  of  argument.  He  was  a  virtuoso  in  playing 
upon  the  weaker  strings  of  humanity.  He  could  talk 
religion  to  a  preacher,  orthodoxy  to  a  priest,  horse- 
racing  to  a  turf  man,  or  the  price  of  rice  and  bacon  to 
a  grocer.  He  could  discuss  stocks  with  a  broker,  or 
the  best  method  of  salting  gold  mines  with  a  bunco 
man.  He  could  be  firm  with  a  financier,  obstinate 
with  the  obstreperous,  or  deferential  to  the  great. 
He  could  brow-beat  a  pugilist,  or  cry  like  an  under- 
taker. Furthermore,  he  knew  exactly  the  man  whom 
he  should  introduce  to  Colonel  Hatch  seated  com- 
fortably in  the  inner  sanctum,  and  also  the  hundred 
others  to  whom  the  Colonel  should  never  be  intro- 
duced. He  had  strained  through  industrious  days 
and  fevered  nights,  financing  Port  Hatch,  in  those 
three  months  that  had  elapsed  since  that  day  he 
calmly  stripped  the  Todd  Brothers  of  four  thousand 
dollars.  The  golden  stream  was  beginning  to  rush 
in — a  flood  of  yellow,  in  return  for  the  money  he  had 
spent  in  extensive  newspaper  and  magazine  adver- 
tising. A  Federal  inquiry  as  to  whether  or  not  he 
was  using  the  mails  for  fraudulent  purposes,  had 
been  routed  utterly,  and  the  notes  cashed  by  two 
banks  had  been  deftly  met.       iThe  wages  of  that 


THE  BOOMERS.  159 

army  of  employees,  which  he  had  driven  to  the  point 
of  heart-break,  and  that,  too,  without  the  remotest 
idea  of  ever  paying,  had  been  paid,  and  this  he  con- 
sidered a  piece  of  misfortune.  No  man  had  come 
seeking  employment  whom  Burmah  Jones  had  not 
employed,  and,  with  the  rapidity  of  a  hot-house 
flower,  fertilized  and  nurtured.  Port  Hatch  had  be- 
come a  city.  The  magic  of  a  magician's  wand 
seemed  vested  in  the  fat  hand  that  now  toyed  with  the 
ruler  in  the  private  office  of  the  Port  Hatch  Land 
Company. 

"This  thing's  got  to  bust,  like  a  toy  rubber  pig 
when  some  kid  bites  his  tail  off,"  he  reasoned.  "When 
it  does,  and  a  lot  of  those  boobs  get  busy  nosin'  into 
the  affairs  of  this  Port  Hatch  Land  Company,  there'll 
be  at  least  three  more  nice  rooms  in  some  man's  jail 
occupied  by  quite  permanent  tenants.  The  Colonel 
may  get  three  years.  Hubbard  will  probably  get* 
two,  and  it's  up  to  me  to  decide  right  now  whether 
me  or  Little  Billy  is  to  have  the  third  one.  I  did  the 
best  I  could  to  keep  the  Colonel  from  having  Ara- 
bella's picture  put  on  all  his  letterheads  and  cheques, 
but  the  old  cuss  insisted  on  it  so  hard  that  I  had  to 
lay  down  my  hand,  and  that'll  drag  her  into  it." 

He  gave  a  deep  and  troubled  sigh,  for  he  was 
coming  to  a  decision,  and  it  was  exceptionally  slow 
for  one  who  had  the  admirable  habit  of  saying  yes 
or  no,  when  pressed  for  time.  Greed  and  a  moral 
sense  that  had  been  long-  subjugated,  but  now 
struggled  for  a  chance,  were  having  a  fight.  What- 
ever he  might  do,  this  was  the  turning  point.  All 
his  life  he  had  been  the  first  rat  to  leave  the  sinking 
ship.  Now,  to  his  own  amazement,  he  found  himself 
aboard  a  foredoomed  craft  that  held  him.  His  native 
shrewdness  told  him  that  the  ship  must  sink,  and  yet 


160  THE  BOOMERS. 

he  had  come  to  love  the  planks  over  which  he  slipped 
and  struggled.  Moreover,  he  was  confronted  with 
another  necessity  for  decision,  inasmuch  as  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Seattle  office  were  at  such  a  stage  that 
it  must  become  secondary  in  importance  to  the  office 
in  Port  Hatch,  now  presided  over  by  Little  Billy,  who 
had  become  a  first-rate  realty  agent.  Little  Billy'fe 
place  in  the  Seattle  office  had  been  filled  by  a  per- 
fectly competent  middle-aged  man,  named  Billings, 
who  sold  realty  and  answered  questions  just  as  auto- 
matically as  an  agent  in  a  great  railway  station 
sells  tickets,  and  gives  information;  a  man  always 
polite  and  suave,  never  hurried,  never  annoyed,  al- 
ways willing  and  always  ready.  The  Port  Hatch 
Semi-weehly  Banner  was  a  success,  and  had  an  en- 
thusiastic editor  with  high  ideals  as  to  the  power 
of  the  press.  Profound  editorials  issued  from  that 
distant  sanctum,  advising  presidents  of  their  errors, 
telling  congressmen  and  senators  for  what  bills  they 
should  vote,  and  deploring  the  decline  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. It  was  a  paper  without  hobbies  or  animosities, 
and  had  once  gained  metropolitan  notice,  when  it  ob- 
served the  fact  that  the  New  York  Sun  had  failed 
to  accuse  William  Jennings  Bryan  of  being  the  cause 
of  the  Ohio  floods.  Pick  was  making  money,  and 
liked  his  place.  The  publicity  department  had 
flourished  under  Tommy  so  effectually  that  Burmah 
Jones  had  once  remarked  to  himself : 

"I'll  make  that  boy  the  most  accomplished  liar  in 
the  world,  if  I  can  only  handle  him  for  three  months 
more." 

Kirby  Smith  had  no  money;  but  hoped  on,  and 
still  retained  a  fine  faith  in  the  majesty  of  the  law. 
Everything  ran  as  smoothly  as  a  six-cylinder  car 
just  out  of  the  agent's  hands;  but  Burmah  feared 


THE  BOOMERS.  161 

that,  like  the  same  six-cylinder  car,  the  whole  ma- 
chine might  balk  at  any  moment.  He  had  always 
insisted  that  the  greatest  art  in  playing  poker  con- 
sisted in  knowing  when  to  lay  down  your  hand,  and, 
as  far  as  he  could  reason,  he  neared  the  point  in  the 
Port  Hatch  game  where  the  hand,  even  though  it 
held  four  kings,  should  be  deftly  tossed  into  the  dis- 
card. To-day,  he  would  have  to  take  the  boat  for 
Port  Hatch,  or  write  a  letter  pleading  some  excuse. 
The  excuse  might  be  worded  to  the  effect  that  he  had 
been  called  East  suddenly  by  the  death  of  a  dear  old 
aunt.    And  then — good-by  forever ! 

His  meditations  were  cut  short  by  the  entrance  of 
Billings. 

"Mr.  Jones,"  said  that  paragon  of  agents, 
"there's  a  guy  outside  here  that  wants  to  talk  with 
you  personally.  Says  his  deal's  one  too  big  to  be 
handled  by  anybody  but  the  chief." 

"Send  him  in,"  said  Burmah,  wearily,  wondering 
if  this  were  simply  a  false  alarm.  But  he  stiffened 
himself  with  a  jerk  when  he  saw  the  man  who  entered, 
for  here  was  one  who  looked  like  ready  money  and 
plain  business. 

"I  am  Henry  Conover,"  said  the  visitor,  extend- 
ing a  neatly  engraved  card  with  a  well-gloved  hand. 

Burmah  arose  to  shake  hands,  and  to  offer  his 
visitor  a  seat.  He  looked  at  the  card  as  if  more 
closely  to  observe  the  name ;  but  at  the  same  time  he 
was  mentally  appraising  Mr.  Conover.  The  latter, 
a  square-jawed,  keen-eyed,  clean-cut  man,  of  perhaps 
fifty  years  of  age,  every  line  of  whose  face  betok- 
ened commercial  acumen,  dropped  into  the  proffered 
chair,  and  settled  into  its  leathery  billows.  For 
some  reason,  he  seemed  to  be  studying  the  face  of 
Burmah  Jones  as  if  speculating  whether  or  not  that 


162  THE  BOOMERS. 

face  was  familiar;  but,  if  he  believed  himself  ac- 
quainted, by  picture,  or  hear-say,  with  Burmah,  he 
seemed  unable  to  recall  him,  and  was  more  at  ease. 

"I  have  two  partners,"  he  said,  without  waste  of 
time,  "who,  with  myself,  have  been  handling  Omaha 
real  estate,  and  we've  decided  to  seek  a  new  field.  We 
have  been  up  at  Port  Hatch,  and  it  looks  good  to  us. 
I  suppose  there  is  room  for  more  agents  unless  the 
Railway  Company  wishes  to  dispose  of  all  its  lands 
in  its  own  behalf?" 

Burmah's  soul  thrilled  with  joy.  Here  was  a 
man  who  believed  the  current  talk  that  the  big 
Transcontinental  Railway  was  coming  to  Port  Hatch, 
and  that  the  Colonel  was  merely  one  of  its  own 
financiers,  handling  its  realty  department.  To  strike 
while  the  iron  is  hot  was  a  maxim  with  Burmah, 
and  he  swung  around  in  his  chair  with  a  seductive 
air  of  frankness  and  sincerity. 

"The  Company  does  desire  to  handle  its  own  prop- 
erty, Mr.  Conover,"  he  said;  "but,  at  the  same 
time,  it's  a  mighty  liberal  company.  It  gives  men  a 
chance  if  they  can  show  that  they  are  out  to  boost 
the  Company's  game.     What  can  we  do  for  you?" 

"We  thought  perhaps  you  would  be  willing  to  sell 
us  enough  land  for  an  entire  subdivision,"  said  Mr. 
Conover,  as  calmly  as  if  discussing  big  deals  were 
his  forte. 

"How  big?"  demanded  Burmah,  entirely  unruffled, 
and  suppressing  his  eagerness. 

"That  depends,  of  course,"  said  the  man  from 
Omaha.  "But,  if  we  can  get  the  right  kind  of  a  deal, 
we  might  take  as  much  as  a  couple  of  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars'  worth." 

Burmah  had  to  stare  out  of  the  window  to  keep 


THE  BOOMERS.  163 

the  visitor   from   seeing  the   rapacious   gleam   thai 
came  into  his  eyes. 

"Cash?"  he  a;sked,  in  a  perfectly  quiet  voice. 

"Half  cash,  and  the  rest  on  payments,"  said  Con- 
over;  and  then  Burmah  settled  down  to  the  skilful 
defense,  thrust  and  parry  of  the  trained  dealer. 
But  the  man  from  Omaha  proved  a  worthy  foeman 
in  the  battle  for  odds,  and  stood  inflexibly  on  his 
first  offer.  For  three  hours,  they  were  like  two 
expert  chess-players,  meeting  pawn  with  pawn,  or 
moving  castles  forward  to  the  defense,  and  in  all 
that  time  Burmah  never  exposed  his  cupidity,  but 
talked  as  if  a  hundred  thousand  cash  meant  nothing 
whatever  to  a  company  that  was  spending  millions 
of  dollars  in  the  construction  of  a  railway. 

He  was  convincing,  he  was  masterful.  He  per- 
suaded the  stranger  that  this  deal  would  show  an 
enormous  profit,  and  he  put  an  ornamental  climax 
on  his  attitude  when  he  asserted  that  he,  personally, 
did  not  favor  the  deal  at  all ;  and  that  he  would  have 
to  lay  the  matter  before  his  superior.  Colonel  Alonzo 
Fairfax  Hatch.  Also,  the  Colonel  was  a  very  busy 
man,  and  probably  would  not  have  time  to  devote  to 
it  for  a  few  days ;  but  Burmah  would  try  to  find 
opportunity  to  discuss  it  with  him  some  time  within 
the  week.  He  had  to  write  the  Colonel  on  some  other 
matters  that  were  highly  important,  and  would  bring 
up  this  matter  also.    Finally,  he  doubted  whether  the 

Colonel  would  consent  to  the  terms  offered 

And,  by  the  way,  had  Mr.  Conover  any  references? 

The  man  from  Omaha,  now  more  eager  than  ever 
to  engage  in  the  transaction,  responded  by  extract- 
ing the  most  fulsome  recommendations  from  his 
pocket,  and  a  bank-letter  of  credit,  showing  that  he 
could  pay  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  still  have 


164  THE  BOOMERS. 

sufficient  left  for  operation.  Burmah  read  through 
all  these  gravely,  with  a  bored  air,  and  handed  them 
back. 

"Well,"  he  said,  arising,  "I  can  say  no  more  to-day, 
Mr.  Conover,  and  I  am  a  very  busy  man.  I  can't 
even  spare  the  time  to  go  up  and  see  the  Colonel,  but 
will  write  him.  I  will  give  you  an  answer  in  three 
days  from  now,  if  the  Colonel  can  get  to  it,  and  give 
a  decision.  If  he  can't,  you'll  have  to  wait,  or  drop 
it.  Personally  I  can't  advise  him  to  take  it;  but  he 
does  things  about  as  he  pleases,  and  that's  all  there 
is  to  it." 

And  then  came  the  first  real  shock  that  Burmah 
had  sustained  during  the  highly  pleasant  interview. 

"In  a  way,  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Colonel  Hatch 
is  the  one  who  must  make  the  decision,"  the  visitor 
said;  "because  my  partners  are  there  in  Port  Hatch 
now,  and  I  shall  immediately  send  word  to  them,  by 
this  afternoon's  boat,  so  that  they,  too,  can  go  and 
have  a  talk  with  the  Colonel."  He  consulted  his 
watch,  and  hastily  slipped  it  back  into  his  pocket. 
"May  I  use  your  telephone?"  he  asked  politely. 

"Certainly,"  assented  Burmah,  swinging  it  toward 
him.  And,  as  the  man  talked,  through  Burmah's 
mind  flashed  all  the  possibilities — and  all  threatened 
disaster.  He  had  made  it  so  plain  that  he  was  too 
busy  to  go  to  Port  Hatch  himself  and  interview  the 
Colonel  that  it  would  never  do  for  him  to  change 
front,  lest  the  prospective  purchaser  become  sus- 
picious. Suspicion  would,  at  the  least,  mean  delay 
in  closing  the  big  sale,  and  delays  might  prove  worse 
than  dangerous.  Suspicion,  if  carried  to  the  point 
of  astute  investigation,  would  terminate  the  entire 
transaction,  and  such  an  opportunity  would  probably 
never  come  again.    He  had  played  his  game  of  non- 


THE  BOOMERS.  165 

chalance  too  strongly,  and  now  found  himself  blocked 
on  every  possible  move,  as  far  as  words  were  con- 
cerned.    He  had  advanced  his  pawns  prematurely. 

Conover  had  been  connected  with  the  number  he 
desired,  and  Burmah  walked  to  the  window,  and 
stared  down  into  the  street,  attempting  to  appear 
disinterested,  while  listening  with  strained  auditory 
nerves.     Every  word  came  to  him  distinctly. 

"You  are  the  agent  for  the  Port  Hatch  boat?" 
asked  Conover,  and  then:  "I  have  an  important 
message  to  give  you  that  I  have  not  time  to  send 
down.  Will  you  write  it  for  me,  and  give  it  to  the 
purser  of  the  boat  to  be  delivered  to  some  messenger 
in  Port  Hatch?  Thank  you.  All  ready?  Here  it 
is:  To  Mr.  Charles  Wellington,  at  the  hotel.  Will 
you  and  Frank  make  it  a  point  to  have  a  talk  with 
Colonel  Hatch,  just  as  soon  as  possible,  about  our 
proposed  deal,  and  use  every  endeavor  to  get  him  in 
a  frame  of  mind  to  close  it  quickly?  Important  that 
you  succeed  for  all  depends  on  him.  Sign  it,  Con- 
over. Repeat  it,  please.  Thank  you.  I  will  come 
down  later,  and  pay  you  for  your  trouble  and  ex- 
pense.    Good-by." 

Conover  arose,  and  thanked  Burmah;  and  the  lat- 
ter's  thoughts  wlere  swiftly  planning  even  as  he 
reached  to  his  desk,  and  pressed  the  bell  that  sum- 
moned Billings.  At  the  same  time,  he  picked  up 
another  visitor's  card,  and  examined  it  thoughtfully, 
as  if  thinking  of  the  next  interview,  an  action  which 
Conover,  being  a  well-trained  business  man,  accepted 
as  a  dismissal. 

"Well,  I  shall  call  in  to  see  you  day  after  to-mor- 
row, Mr.  Jones,"  he  said,  extending  his  hand. 

Burmah  accepted  it,  even  as  Billings,  imperturb- 
able and  polite,  appeared  to  answer  his  call. 


166  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Yes,  day  after  to-morrow,  in  the  late  afternoon," 
Burmah  replied,  completely  at  his  ease  so  far  as 
manner  went.  "Been  havin'  nice  weather  for  a  visit, 
haven't  you?  Sorry  I  can't  find  time  to  take  you 
around  to  my  club  this  evenin',  Mr.  Conover ;  but  I'm 
tied  up.    However,  there  are  other  days.    Good-by." 

That  he  had  no  club  made  no  difference  to  Bur- 
mah Jones.  He  shut  the  door  behind  the  man  from 
Omaha,  and  suddenly  all  his  deliberate  slowness  dis- 
appeared, and  his  air  of  lazy  content  dropped  from 
him  like  the  masque  it  was. 

"Ring  for  a  taxi' — quick !"  he  snapped.  "It  don't 
matter  who  wants  to  see  me.  I  can't  be  seen  for  at 
least  two  days.  Do  what  you  can  without  me.  Tell 
'em  you  don't  know  where  I've  gone,  but  you  think 
Portland.  I've  got  to  get  the  Port  Hatch  boat,  and 
have  got  less  than  five  minutes !" 

He  jerked  a  hand-bag  from  a  wardrobe,  and  ran 
hastily  out  through  a  side  entrance  and  down  the 
stairs,  fearing  to  descend  by  the  elevator  lest  he 
should  meet  his  departing  visitor.  He  looked 
anxiously  out  into  the  street  for  a  taxi-cab.  He 
saw  one  heading  his  way,  but  a  team  obstructed  its 
rush  toward  the  curb,  and  Burmah,  cursing  volubly, 
dashed  into  the  street  at  the  peril  of  his  neck,  and 
pounced  on  the  chauffeur. 

"To  the  Schwabacher  dock,  as  fast  as  you  can 
drive !    I'll  pay  all  fines ;  but  get  me  there !    Quick !" 

The  driver  threw  his  car  around  in  a  hairpin  turn, 
and  shot  through  the  crowded  streets  of  the  city  that 
forever  rushes  about  its  affairs.  The  car  nearly 
raked  a  policeman  on  a  corner,  and  in  vain  he 
shouted  after  it.  It  bent  a  fender  against  a  slowly 
backed  truck,  but  never  paused,  for  Burmah 
shouted : 


THE  BOOMERS.  167 

"Let  it  go !  I'll  pay  for  it."  Everything  must 
make  way,  and  the  motor  horn  blew  a  wild,  con- 
tinuous warning.  By  fractions  of  an  inch,  they 
missed  a  pedestrian  or  two,  and  once  took  to  the 
curb,  to  avoid  collision  with  a  blindered  horse.  They 
swung  recklessly  down  to  the  dock,  and  Burmah, 
springing  from  the  door  as  if  thrown  violently  by 
someone  behind,  vented  an  exclamation  of  disappoint- 
ment. Far  out  in  the  sound  the  steamer  for  Port 
Hatch  churned  the  water  behind,  and  threw  long 
white  furrows  under  its  fore-foot  as  it  turned  toward 
the  long  neck  of  land  behind  which  it  would  soon  dis- 
appear. 

"Here,"  said  Burmah,  hastily  scribbling  on  the 
back  of  a  card,  "take  this  note  up  to  my  office,  and 
tell  the  man  at  the  desk  to  settle  all  bills  if  you  get 
arrested.    You  know  me.    I'm  Burmah  Jones." 

The  chauffeur  bowed  in  recognition  of  the  name, 
and  climbed  into  his  seat.  But,  before  he  had  turned 
his  machine,  Burmah  had  plunged  into  the  office  of  a 
towing  company  that  stood  at  the  end  of  the  dock. 

"I  want  a  tug  for  Port  Hatch — a  fast  tug — the 
fastest  you've  got,"  he  demanded  curtly,  and  the 
clerk  behind  the  counter,  urged  to  speed  by  the 
visitor's  dominance,  turned  to  an  inner  office. 

There  was  no  time  wasted  in  bargaining,  for  Bur- 
mah cut  that  short  with: 

"Hang  the  price.     Make  it,  and  I'll  pay  it !" 

Burmah  was  a  man  to  make  others  move.  Inside 
of  fifteen  minutes,  he  stood  on  board  a  boat,  watching 
the  lines  being  cast  off  from  the  deck,  and  then,  all 
his  impatience  concealed,  calmly  observed  the  en- 
gineer at  the  engines  as  if  haste  meant  nothing  what- 
ever to  him.     He  had  realized  the  danger  while  he 


168  THE  BOOMERS. 

listened  to  Conover's  message.  If  the  two  men  in  Port 
Hatch  reached  the  Colonel  first,  the  latter  would  cer- 
tainly either  let  the  land  go  for  an  absurd  price,  or, 
in  some  freak  of  generosity,  present  them  with  what- 
ever they  wanted,  and  wish  them  God's  blessing.  He 
must  get  to  the  Colonel  before  a  bargain  could  be 
clinched,  and  then  pluck  that  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars which  swung  so  temptingly  before  his  nose! 
Once  let  him  get  his  hands  on  the  money,  and  every- 
thing else  could  go  to  smash,  so  far  as  one  Burmah 
Jones  was  concerned.  By  the  side  of  the  cabin  he 
stood  and  gazed  down  at  the  swirl  of  slow-moving 
water  as  the  tugboat  began  to  obtain  headway.  He 
walked  forward,  and  stared  back  at  the  pilot,  who 
stood  in  the  wheel-house  above,  rough,  weather-beaten 
and  watchful.  The  big  gold  letters  of  the  boat's 
name-plate  shone  brightly,  and  Burmah  hoped  that 
her  appellation,  The  Hercules,  was  a  misnomer.  He 
wanted  speed,  not  strength.  The  pilot  seemed  in  no 
hurry,  but  there  hung  a  comforting  hope  in  the 
cloud  of  black  smoke  that  began  to  rush  from  the 
smoke-stack,  telling  that  below  the  firemen  were  forc- 
ing their  draughts.  He  stood  quietly  while  The 
Hercules  swung  out  into  midstream.  The  marvelous 
harbor,  deep  enough  to  float  the  biggest  ship  in  the 
world,  broad  enough  to  give  free-way  to  a  battleship, 
lay  as  placid  as  if  it  were  of  glass  poured  molten  into 
a  cup,  and  left  to  cool.  Wharves  and  warehouses, 
mills  and  factories,  bent  over  the  edge  of  the  water. 
The  broad  flat,  palpitant  with  industry  and  the  fervid 
youth  of  the  West,  sent  its  smoky  spirals  into  the 
sky,  thin  and  gray  and  pale.  Behind  all  arose  the 
splendid  hills,  shouldering  the  residences  of  the  city, 
and  appearing  like  battlements  impregnable  to  Fate 


THE  BOOMERS.  169 

itself.  To  one  side  now,  dotted  with  islands  tenanted 
by  industry,  were  the  tide-lands,  from  which  far- 
seeing  men  had  made  fortunes.  A  slow-moving  steam- 
ship, huge  and  black,  and  laden  with  argonauts  for 
Alaska,  was  backing  away  from  her  wharf,  and  those 
left  on  the  shore  were  shouting  shrill  farewell.  In 
the  distance,  another  huge  steamer  ran  up  the  flag  of 
Japan,  telling  to  the  observant  that  she  was  prepar- 
ing to  breast  the  Pacific,  and,  by  holding  resolutely  to 
the  west,  would  reach  the  east.  He  found  time,  even 
in  his  stress,  to  think  of  what  it  all  meant,  this  mar- 
velous activity,  this  twisting  life,  and  to  see  in  it 
resistless,  invincible,  daring  assertion,  a  dauntless  bid 
for  future  eminence.  This  was  a  city  made  by  men 
who  had  been  honest  builders,  men  who  flaunted  as 
a  battle-cry  that  single  pregnant  phrase,  so  truly 
Western  and  American,  "Boost  for  Seattle."  And 
here  on  The  Hercules  was  he,  the  wrecker,  whose  only 
shibboleth  had  been,  "Get  all  you  can,  and  get." 

For  some  reason  baffling  in  its  subtlety,  but  bear- 
ing naked  comparison,  he  felt  small  and  mean  and 
ashamed  of  himself,  as  he  turned  away  from  that 
sliding  panorama,  and  looked  out  toward  the  bow  of 
The  Hercules,  now  entering  the  open  waters  of  the 
beautiful  sound.  He  shut  his  teeth  savagely,  and 
scowled.  This  was  no  time  for  a  man  to  weaken  in 
such  a  disreputable  enterprise  as  that  in  which  he 
was  involved.  He  must  cut  loose  from  everything. 
He  must  get  his  clutch  on  the  money  of  the  Omaha 
Syndicate,  and  go.  Those  who  were  foolish  enough 
to  stick  to  the  game,  must  stick,  and  pay  for  their 
folly. 

Away  ahead,  appearing  like  a  white  speck  dropped 
down  on  the  blue  waves  of  Puget  Sound,  steamed  the 


170  THE  BOOMERS. 

Port  Hatch  boat,  carrying  the  message  that  might 
upset  all  his  plans.  He  looked  anxiously  up  at  the 
stack  of  The  Hercules,  and  the  plume  of  black  smoke 
was  still  there,  exactly  as  it  had  been  but  a  few  min- 
utes before.  It  seemed  to  him  that  hours  had  passed 
since  he  first  observed  it.  To  his  impetuous  and 
intolerant  mood,  the  boat  seemed  to  be  plodding.  A 
fever  of  impatience  impelled  him  like  a  determined 
horseman  to  use  a  spur.  He  hurried  back  to  the 
engine-room  door,  and  shouted  to  the  engineer 
abruptly,  all  suavity  and  serenity  dropped,  and  again 
the  man  of  action. 

"Come  here !"  he  commanded ;  and  the  engineer, 
wiping  his  hands  on  a  piece  of  waste,  obeyed. 

"You've  got  two  firemen  down  there,  haven't  you?" 
Burmah  asked,  crisply. 

"One  fireman  and  a  coal-passer." 

"All  right.  That  makes  three  of  you.  You  get  a 
hundred  dollars  a-piece  if  you  beat  that  other  boat 
into  Port  Hatch ;"  and  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  fat 
wallet,  and  exposed  three  one-hundred-dollar  bills. 

"You're  on.  Boss !  I'd  bust  the  boilers  for  that 
much  money,"  the  engineer  answered,  and  jumped 
back  to  impart  the  news  to  his  men. 

Burmah  turned  immediately,  and  ran  up  the  short 
steps  to  the  pilot-house,  where  without  ceremony  he 
jerked  open  the  door.  The  pilot  turned,  and  scowled 
at  this  intrusion,  for  the  pilot-house  is  sacred,  even 
though  the  man  who  enters  may  be  the  one  who  has 
chartered  the  boat. 

"This  boat,"  said  Burmah,  "ain't  goin'  fast  enough 
to  suit  me.  It's  speed  I  want.  I  want  her  to  hump 
herself  till  she  cracks  her  hull.  If  you  beat  that  boat 
up  yonder  into  Port  Hatch  by  half  an  hour,  you 


THE  BOOMERS.  171 

get  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  your  own  pocket. 
See  ?  Now  get  a  hustle  on  you,  and  earn  it !  I  don't 
want  to  be  all  day  on  this  tub.     Get  busy! 

He  turned  back,  and  slammed  the  door  behind  him, 
leaving  the  astonished  pilot  to  speculate  as  to  what 
urgent  business  that  fat,  short,  domineering  man 
might  have  on  hand.  But  there  rang  the  voice  of  the 
master  and  the  liberality  of  one  willing  to  pay  for 
his  whims.  So  the  speaking-tubes  shrilled,  and  The 
Hercules  began  to  throb  and  squat  lower  in  the 
water,  like  a  foot-racer  preparing  to  get  off  the 
mark.  The  waves  commenced  to  smash  up  across  her 
up-tilted  bow,  flushing  the  forward  deck,  and  cascad- 
ing from  the  rope  buffer  that  disfigured  her  nose. 
The  deck  beneath  shivered,  and  the  trees  along  the 
in-shore,  where  she  ran  to  find  the  stillest  water, 
began  to  slide  past  more  rapidly.  The  Hercules  was 
making  the  record  run  of  her  existence. 

The  white  speck  ahead  gradually  took  on  a  more 
clear-cut  shape,  then  began  to  loom  distinctly.  Next 
it  started  to  come  back  toward  them  in  perspective — ■ 
it  came  abreast.  On  the  decks  of  the  Port  Hatch  boat, 
the  passengers  crowded  to  the  nearest  rail  to  watch 
the  passing  of  this  sea-going  tug  that  tore  the  water 
in  a  frenzy  of  haste.  The  Hercules,  with  her  huge 
engines  at  full  speed,  was  now  a  seething,  racing 
thing,  recklessly  plunging  over  the  water  with  an 
uplifted  bow,  as  if  run  by  drunken  men;  but  on  her 
decks  none  save  one  or  two  roustabouts  were  in  sight, 
for  Burmah  had  discreetly  gone  to  the  farther  side 
of  the  cabin,  lest  someone  should  see  and  recognize 
him.  He  must  take  no  chances  of  arousing  inquiry, 
or  curiosity.  It  was  his  part  to  get  into  Port  Hatch, 
find  the  Colonel,  and  influence  him  before  the  message 


172  THE  BOOMERS. 

arrived  that  would  set  two  probably  clever  men  on 
the  trail  like  hounds  on  a  close  quarry.  He  smiled 
with  satisfaction  when,  after  some  minutes  had 
passed,  he  looked  back  over  the  torn  wake,  and  saw 
that  the  Port  Hatch  boat,  sedately  making  her  reg- 
ular schedule,  was  being  dropped  behind  as  if  she 
were  tied.  He  lighted  a  huge  cigar.  He  had  won 
the  first  move,  and  now  the  break  was  more  than  even. 
He  would  get  Mr.  Conover's  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, unless  The  Hercules  blew  up  or  broke  down 
before  she  finished  that  desperate  spurt.  The  miles 
were  swimming  away  behind  them,  and  the  persistent 
clang  of  the  shovels  below,  feeding  coal  into  the  boil- 
ers, told  that  the  men  in  the  engine-  and  fire-rooms 
were  taking  every  ounce  out  of  the  tug  that  she  could 
stand.  Burmah  Jones  gaily  hummed  a  little  song  to 
himself,  for  the  elation  of  accomplishment  had  en- 
tered his  head,  and  intoxicated  him.  He  felt  like 
shaking  hands  with  himself  in  congratulation,  and 
wondered  if  there  was  not  someone  on  board  who  had 
nice  strong  liquor  which  he  might  obtain  to  drink  a 
toast  to  himself,  the  lone  passenger  on  this  driven, 
rocking  craft.  He  was  speculating  as  to  which  man 
on  the  boat  would  be  the  most  likely  to  supply  this 
demand,  when  there  came  a  sudden  terrific  ear-split- 
ting report  from  the  engine-room,  and  the  sharp 
crash  of  rent  wood  in  the  superstructure.  A  cloud 
of  steam  belched  out  through  the  side  doors,  and 
The  Hercules  quivered  from  bow  to  stern.  The  screw 
stopped  revolving,  and  from  the  engine-room,  with 
arms  held  over  his  face  to  avoid  the  white  and  deadly 
mist,  plunged  the  engineer,  followed  in  turn  by  the 
coal-passer  and  fireman.  The  door  of  the  pilot- 
house flew  open  violently,  and  down  the  steps  dove 


THE  BOOMERS.  178 

the  pilot,  set-faced  and  swearing  steadily  in  a  dull 
voice.  A  roar  of  steam  burst  from  the  escape-valve, 
sending  a  heavy  white  cloud  upward  toward  the  blue 
afternoon  sky.  But,  above  the  noise,  Burmah,  who 
had  stepped  to  the  rail,  prepared  to  jump  overboard, 
heard  the  pilot  shout: 

"What's  happened.?" 

Burmah  recovered  himself,  and  hurried  after  the 
latter  to  hear  the  engineer's  reply. 

"Blew  out  a  high-pressure  cylinder  head.  Nobody 
hurt  down  here." 

There  was  more  said,  which  Burmah  could  not 
hear ;  but  he  surmised  that  the  pilot  was  cursing  the 
engineer  for  over-zealousness  to  win  the  reward,  and 
that  the  engineer  was  attempting  to  foist  the  blame 
on  the  fireman,  who,  in  turn,  tried  to  shift  it  along 
to  the  coal-passer. 

As  suddenly  as  pandemonium  had  broken  loose,  it 
ceased  when  the  escape-valve,  relieved  of  pressure 
became  silent.  The  Hercules  began  veering  a  little 
wildly  as  she  lost  headway,  and  the  pilot  ran  back  to 
the  wheel,  and  headed  her  toward  the  nearest  shore, 
where  a  tiny  cove  appeared  to  offer  depth  and  shelter. 
Her  impetus  carried  her  forward,  but  the  waves  no 
longer  dashed  against  her  short  nose,  and  she  no 
longer  squatted  down  in  a  nest  of  boiling  water.  The 
men  from  the  engine-room  had  ducked  back  through 
the  dissipating  and  cooling  clouds  of  steam,  and  then, 
as  she  began  to  slow  down,  with  never  a  quiver  of 
engine  nor  throb  of  screw,  the  shore  appeared  to  be 
lazily  advancing  to  greet  her. 

Burmah  Jones,  after  that  first  excited,  frenzied 
rush,  had  grown  red  in  the  face,  and  then  become 
desperately  grim  and  quiet,  a  certain  sign  that  his 


174  THE  BOOMERS. 

mind  was  exceptionally  active.  The  boat's  fore-foot 
took  the  sand  as  gently  as  if  merely  touching  it  for 
anchorage,  and  the  pilot  stepped  down  from  his 
house  to  meet  the  passenger. 

"Well,"  queried  the  latter,  imperturbably,  "how 
bad  is  it?    Do  you  get  that  bonus?" 

"Bonus?  Humph !"  replied  the  pilot,  spitting  over 
the  rail.  "When  we  get  off  here  we'll  be  towed  off! 
The  Hercules  is  as  dead  as  a  salt  mackerel." 

If  he  was  nothing  else,  Burmah  Jones  was  capable 
in  misfortune.  The  Indian's  prayer  might  have  been 
his: 

"Oh,  Great  Spirit,  let  me  win  if  I  can;  but,  if  I 
can't,  make  me  a  good  loser." 

"You've  done  your  best,"  he  said,  quietly.  "Luck 
wasn't  with  you.  I'm  going  to  give  you  each  a  piece 
of  money,  anyway." 

He  took  from  his  roll  of  bills  two  hundred-dollar 
notes,  crisp  and  yellow,  and  thrust  them  into  the 
hand  of  the  astonished  pilot.  Nothing  in  his  appear- 
ance made  the  seaman  suspect,  for  a  moment,  that 
even  then  the  short,  fat  donor  calculated  that  he  had 
participated  in  a  game  where  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  were  at  stake,  and  that  he  had  lost  it  all. 

"Divide  that  up  with  the  boys,"  said  Burmah, 
softly,  "and  say  for  me  that  I  wish  them  joy.  We 
can't  always  do  all  we  try  to  do.  If  we  do  all  we  can 
do,  it's  only  tough  luck  that  can  do  us,  and  keep  us 
from  doin'  others," 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BEINGS  AN  HONEST  TALE. 

The  crew  of  The  Hercules  came  in  a  body  to  thank 
the  passenger,  and  found  him  calmly  seated  on  the 
winch,  with  his  silk  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  a 
bank-book  in  his  hand.  He  slipped  the  book  into  his 
pocket,  as  they  approached  to  commiserate  with  him, 
and  told  them  that,  "it  didn't  matter,  anyhow." 
After  all  his  surprising  desire  for  haste  at  the  start, 
this  struck  them  as  being  the  height  of  politeness, 
and  they  stood  for  a  moment  wondering  what  it  could 
all  be  about.  There  was  something  in  his  attitude 
that  appeared  to  them  unusual,  some  quiet  expect- 
ancy— which  was  exactly  the  opposite  to  anything 
in  Burmah's  mind;  for  he  was  ruminating  and  phi- 
losophizing over  something  that  had  come  to  him,  and 
wanted  neither  thanks  nor  conversation. 

"Oh,  it's  all  right,  boys,"  he  assured  them,  with  a 
wave  of  his  hand.    "How'U  we  get  back?" 

"Some  tug  will  come  in  and  pick  us  up,"  assured 
the  pilot,  looking  out  toward  the  sound,  which  ap- 
peared as  desolate  and  primitive  as  if  its  waters  had 
never  been  stirred.  And  then,  as  Burmah  did  not 
answer,  he  turned  away. 

Burmah,  with  abstracted  eyes,  stared  at  the  forest. 
He  felt  convinced,  by  all  reasoning,  that  the  big  sale 
must  be  lost,  and,  therefore,  that  he  was  exactly 
where  he  had  been  prior  to  the  hour  when  Conover 
appeared  in  his  office  with  that  startling  proposition. 
Yet,  somehow,  sitting  there  on  the  iron  seat,  with 
everything  quiet  and  dead  around  him,  with  no  one 

175 


176  THE  BOOMERS. 

in  an  outer  office  to  annoy  him,  and  nothing  to  do 
but  to  think,  a  helpless  prisoner  on  a  helpless  craft, 
his  mind  seemed  clearer.  He  found  time  and  courage 
for  introspection  and  review.  The  ethics  of  his  life 
did  not  seem  good.  A  careless  life  it  had  been,  that 
of  the  man  greedy  to  acquire  much  money  quickly, 
without  regard  for  the  ethics  of  the  means  used  in 
its  acquisition.  He  wondered  if  he  could  not  have 
done  better  with  his  talents  than  to  employ  them  as 
he  had.  His  soul  hurt  him  a  little,  and,  to  avoid  its 
bold  accusation,  for  no  man  can  lie  to  himself,  he 
steeled  himself  to  consider  whether  it  might  not  be 
better  to  go  back  to  Seattle,  and  depart  at  once  with- 
out waiting  for  anything  more.  But,  always,  the 
things  the  Colonel  had  done,  the  things  he  had  said, 
the  trust  of  three  of  the  young  men  from  Chat- 
tanooga, and  the  wholesome  confidence  of  Arabella 
were  remembered,  and  they  made  him  ashamed. 

Suddenly,  from  the  wrecked  roof  of  the  superstruc- 
ture through  which  the  cylinder  head  had  torn  its 
way  even  as  a  cannon  ball  perforates  the  canvas  of  a 
target,  he  heard  a  shout,  and  looked  up.  It  was  from 
the  pilot  who  had  been  inspecting  the  damage. 

"A  boat  of  some  sort!  Hey!  Below  there!  All 
hands !" 

Burmah  listened,  but  could  hear  nothing  save  the 
sounds  of  the  engineer's  voice  shouting  to  his  helpers, 
and  their  rush  of  feet  as  they  came  out  in  response 
to  the  summons. 

"I  hear  a  boat  coming.  Mister,"  the  pilot  roared 
down  from  his  perch  to  Burmah.  "Maybe  we  can 
stop  her.  Below  there !  Look  lively,  and  lower  away 
a  boat!" 


THE  BOOMERS.  177 

Up  to  the  deck  the  men  sprang,  eager  to  do  any- 
thing they  could  in  behalf  of  a  passenger  who  had 
astonished  them  by  his  liberality  and  his  calm  accept- 
ance of  misfortune,  two  qualities  that  are  idolized  by 
men  of  the  sea,  no  matter  whither  they  fare.  Bur- 
mah  Jones  lifted  his  head  hopefully,  and  watched 
them  as  they  hastened  to  cast  off  the  lashings,  and 
get  the  boat  over  and  down  the  side  into  the  water. 
There  was  still  a  chance,  and  he  gathered  himself 
to  take  advantage  of  it,  for  habit  bade  him  run  his 
race  to  a  finish. 

"If  it's  anyone  who  can  help  us,  we'll  give  them 
word,"  exclaimed  the  pilot.  "And  anyhow.  Mister, 
they  will  probably  be  willing  to  carry  you  into 
Seattle."  As  he  spoke  he  was  scrambling  into  the 
boat,  and  preparing  to  order  his  men  to  give  way  on 
the  oars.     But  Burmah  sprang  after  him. 

"Back  to  Seattle,  if  I  can't  do  better,"  he  said. 
"Pull  out  into  the  sound,  where  we  can  see  what 
she  is." 

"Right-o !"  declared  the  pilot ;  and  the  oars  dipped 
into  the  water  with  a  friendly  energy.  The  boat 
seemed  to  crawl  out  past  the  point  of  the  cove,  while 
the  steady  puffs  of  the  approaching  hope  grew 
rapidly  near.  Burmah  feared  that  the  craft,  what- 
ever she  might  be,  would  pass  before  they  could  inter- 
cept her,  and  then,  abruptly,  there  burst  into  view 
another  tugboat,  headed  toward  Seattle,  and  travel- 
ing light.     The  pilot  gave  a  hoarse  shout. 

"It's  The  Mary  D.  She  towed  a  schooner  out  this 
morning,  and  is  homeward  bound!" 

He  stood  up  in  the  boat,  balancing  himself  easily, 
despite  the  jerky  motion  imparted  by  the  oars  and  the 


178  THE  BOOMERS. 

wash  of  the  sound,  and  encouraged  his  men  to  give 
way.  He  waved  his  cap,  and  shouted  with  a  voice 
that  sounded  sufficiently  powerful  to  be  heard  at  any 
distance.  There  was  a  wavering  moment  when  it  was 
feared  they  would  not  be  observed  or  that  The  Mary 
D.  would  ignore  them;  and  then,  in  a  hoarse  shriek, 
the  tug's  whistle  told  them  they  had  been  seen.  In 
a  long,  graceful  swing,  she  came  toward  them,  and 
they  could  hear,  across  the  still  waters,  the  sound  of 
bells  in  her  engine-room  calling  for  slow  speed,  then 
speed  astern,  and  she  halted  within  a  few  feet  of  them. 

"What's  the  matter,  Dan.^"  the  pilot's  voice  came 
from  above  them;  and  the  pilot  of  The  Hercules 
grinned. 

"Cylinder  head  blown  out.  Got  a  passenger  who 
wants  to  get  to  Port  Hatch." 

"Sorry!    Can't  take  him!" 

Burmah's  hopes  fell  flat. 

"Yes,  you  can,  too,"  shouted  the  pilot  of  The 
Hercules.  "Lord  Almighty!  He's  in  a  hurry,  and 
he's  a  friend  of  ours.  Hang  orders.  Come  on  and 
do  this  for  us,  won't  you.^^  He's  white  all  the  way 
through." 

Burmah's  generosity  was  bearing  unexpected  fruit. 

"You  tell  them,"  said  Burmah  to  the  man  called 
Dan,  "that  I'll  pay  them  big  to  take  me  aboard,  and 
get  me  there  ahead  of  the  regular  boat.  I've  got 
to  get  there !" 

The  message  was  bawled  upward.  The  pilot  of 
The  Mary  D.  hesitated,  looked  at  his  watch,  and  then 
slipped  it  back  into  his  pocket. 

"All  right,  Dan.  Get  him  aboard.  I  wouldn't  do 
it  if  it  wasn't  for  you,  though.    Get  him  up." 


THE  BOOMERS.  179 

Burmah  climbed  over  the  strake  of  The  Mary  Z>., 
and  then  turned  back  to  the  men  of  The  Hercules. 

"Thanks,"  he  said.  "My  name's  Jones — Burmah 
Jones.  If  what  I'm  after  goes  through,  I'll  not 
forget  a  man  of  you.  You  can  bet  your  heads  on 
that." 

He  hurried  around  to  the  pilot-house  steps,  and, 
as  he  did  so,  heard  Dan  calling  to  his  friend  to  report 
the  accident  to  The  Hercules  at  her  home  office  that 
night,  then  he  felt  The  Mary  D.  starting  her  screw. 
This  time  he  made  no  bargain,  but  slipped  another 
of  the  precious  yellow  bills  into  the  pilot's  hands, 

"Beat  the  regular  boat  in  by  every  foot  you  can," 
he  said,  tersely.  "Every  minute  means  money  to 
me.     Savvey?" 

He  ducked  back  out  of  the  house,  and  down  to  the 
engine-room,  where  once  more  he  used  the  greatest 
wand  that  magicians  can  use,  the  one  that  is  engraved, 
and  the  response  was  as  immediate  as  it  had  been 
with  the  men  of  The  Hercules.  He  walked  aft,  and 
waved  his  hat  at  the  latter  in  farewell,  and  looked 
down  the  sound.  As  if  relentlessly  pursuing  him,  he 
saw  the  regular  boat  again  racing  toward  them,  and 
she  seemed  to  be  going  faster  than  ever.  But  now, 
landsman  that  he  was,  he  discovered  something  else: 
that  The  Mary  D.  was  much  faster  than  The  Her- 
culesy  and  that  the  men  aboard  her  were  intent  on 
repaying  him  for  his  bribes.  Again  they  were  racing 
away  from  the  slow  sound  boat;  again  she  was 
dropped  from  sight.  The  afternoon  sun  was  waning 
in  a  glory  of  red  haze,  and  the  Olympics  were  don- 
ning a  purple  robe  in  preparation  for  the  night. 
That  he  might  lose  no  time,  he  went  back  to  the 
pilot-house   and  paid   for  the   short   charter,   after 


180  THE  BOOMERS. 

which  he  stepped  down,  and  patiently  waited  for  the 
high  headland  that  would  tell  him  that  his  race  was 
over. 

It  was  sunset  when  he  leaped  to  the  wharf,  and 
looked  around  him.  He  did  not  stop  to  think  of  the 
changes  that  had  come  over  Port  Hatch  since  first 
he  landed  there.  The  old  temporary  wharf  had  given 
way  to  a  substantial  one,  and  other  wharves  were 
being  run  out,  wharves  of  stone  and  concrete,  to  stay 
through  all  time.  Two  schooners  were  being  un- 
loaded on  one  hand,  and  farther  up  a  squatty  black 
tramp  freighter  was  hoisting  out  her  cargo  to  the 
accompaniment  of  a  groaning,  puffing,  steam  winch. 
Electric  lights  were  beginning  to  shine  dully  here  and 
there,  as  they  fought  for  supremacy  with  the  on- 
coming dusk.  A  broad,  finely  paved  street  zig- 
zagged upward  on  the  side  of  the  cliff  toward  the 
lofty  top  of  the  peninsula,  and  everywhere  that  one 
might  look  could  be  seen  the  skeletons  of  buildings 
in  course  of  erection,  buildings  being  painted,  or 
buildings  garish  in  their  new  colors.  He  knew  that 
already  the  town  boasted  two  taxi-cabs  run  by  a 
man  whom  he  had  induced  to  see  the  advantages  of 
having  the  first  cab  line  in  the  city;  but  neither  of 
these  was  in  sight.  From  a  wharf  bulletin-board,  a 
big  bill  stared  him  in  the  face,  announcing  that  on 
the  following  day  there  would  be  a  mass-meeting  of 
citizens  to  organize  Port  Hatch  into  a  city  proper; 
but  this  did  not  halt  him.  He  puffed  away  up  the 
street,  climbing  the  switchback  road,  and  he  did  not 
pause  in  front  of  The  Banner  office,  al thought  within 
he  heard  the  clicking  of  a  linotype  machine  grinding 
out  Pickett's  editorials  and  the  flamboyant  articles 
that  he,  Burmah  Jones,  had  written  under  a  midnight 


THE  BOOMERS.  181 

incandescent.  He  did  hesitate  for  an  instant  in  front 
of  the  building,  built  after  the  "arts  and  crafts"  beau- 
tiful styles,  wherein  he  knew  was  to  be  located  the 
Port  Hatch  Club.  He  smlied  grimly  when  he  thought 
how  he  had  tried  to  prevent  the  Colonel  from  this 
extravagance,  and  how  the  Colonel  had  assured  him 
that  he  had  always  wanted  to  be  the  founder  of  a 
club,  "devoted  to  gentlemen,  wherein  kindly  memories 
might  be  cherished  long  after  the  founder  had  passed 
to  his  rest."  Persons  were  moving  homeward 
through  the  debris  of  the  streets,  carpenters  and 
masons  mostly,  lured  to  this  city  of  promise  by  the 
certainty  of  work  at  boom  wages.  He  was  glad  that 
he  met  no  one  who  recognized  him,  for  what  he 
wanted  most  of  all  was  to  reach  the  Colonel,  talk 
with  him,  and  then  to  escape  back  to  the  rooms  above 
Hubbard's  quarters,  one  of  which  was  his  own  for 
use  when  in  this  bubble-creation  of  his  brain. 

Out  toward  the  very  point  of  the  cliff  he  made  his 
laborious  way,  and  the  shadows  were  growing  more 
enveloping,  and  the  lights  more  distant  as  he  ad- 
vanced. The  new  palace  on  the  hill,  the  residence 
of  the  Colonel  and  Arabella,  was  in  a  glow,  and  he 
wondered  what  this  could  mean.  Away  below  him  he 
heard  a  steamer  whistling,  and  stopped  to  breathe 
and  look  downward  and  grin,  for,  after  all,  he  had 
beaten  Conover's  message.  The  emmissaries  would 
have  to  pay  full  value  when  they  arrived,  that  much 
was  certain;  and  the  chances  were  that  he,  Burmah 
Jones,  would  make  enough  to  justify  him  in  shaking 
North-western  dust  from  his  feet.  He  hastened  on- 
ward, and  came  to  huge  natural  stone  pillars,  from 
which  wrought-iron  gates  would  swing  when  they 


182  THE  BOOMERS. 

were  placed,  and  entered  the  domain  of  Marquard 
Villa,  as  the  Colonel,  after  long  consultation  with 
Arabella  and  the  four  lawyers  from  Chattanooga, 
had  named  his  mansion.  On  every  side,  showing 
through  the  gloom,  were  evidences  of  Hubbard's 
genius  as  a  landscape  artist.  Here  and  there  were 
basins  for  fountains,  and  an  occasional  pedestal  for 
a  statue.  Trees  had  been  trimmed  to  meet  require- 
ments, and  patches  of  green  where  new  lawns  were 
starting  showed  soft  and  inviting  in  the  dusk.  Birds 
twittered  when  disturbed  by  the  crunching  of  Bur- 
mah's  footsteps  over  the  freshly  rolled  gravel  paths. 
He  advanced  up  the  broad  and  hospital  steps,  and 
the  smell  of  fresh  paint  fought  with  the  odors  of 
evening,  and  from  within  the  house  came  the  sounds 
of  laughter.  He  rang  the  bell,  and  Uncle  Jeff,  clad 
in  sedate  livery,  opened  the  door  with  a  bow  that 
had  done  credit  to  that  other  home  in  Chattanooga, 
so  far  away.  Burmah  heard  the  Colonel's  voice 
through  one  of  the  wide  grilled  openings  leading 
from  the  fine  hallway. 

"No,  Billy,"  it  expostulated,  "don't  you  try  to 
climb  that  ladder.  There's  roses  enough  there  by 
that  cornice.  I'd  a  heap  rather  have  it  look  scant 
than  to  have  you  bust  a  leg,  and  miss  this  glorious 
reception." 

Then,  in  a  flash,  the  meaning  came  to  Burmah. 
This  was  the  fifteenth  of  August,  and  the  night  of 
the  Colonel's  house-warming,  the  reception  planned 
so  long  and  so  insistently,  which  was  to  do  honor  to 
a  new  Hatch  home,  and  to  which  Burmah  had  been 
invited.  Already  the  sound  of  Uncle  Jeff's  announce- 
ment of  his  name  was  in  his  ears.    He  stepped  quickly 


THE  BOOMERS.  183 

forward  toward  the  sound,  and  was  merely  a  placid, 
unctuous  little  fat  man  as  he  hailed  those  within  the 
room. 

"Good-evening,  Colonel,  Miss  Arabella,  and  Gen- 
tlemen," he  said.  "Well,  I  have  come,  as  you  can 
see.     Glad  to  be  in  time." 

"Bless  my  soul!"  shouted  the  Colonel,  boyishly 
rushing  forward  to  seize  and  shake  his  hand.  "I 
knew  you  would  be  here.  Welcome  to  Marquard 
Villa!  Isn't  it  all  right,  Burmah.?^  Just  look  at  this, 
will  you?" 

And  Arabella,  smiling  and  glad  to  see  him,  caught 
his  hand  in  both  of  hers,  and  said: 

"I  was  afraid  you  wouldn't  spare  the  time  to  come. 
Isn't  it  lovely.^  Oh,  Mr.  Hubbard  is  such  a  won- 
derful man !" 

Even  Lester,  the  quiet  dawdler,  was  there,  taking 
his  part  in  the  floral  decoration  of  the  house ;  but  he 
alone  displayed  no  happiness  at  seeing  the  Kansan, 
and  smiled  sardonically,  as  if  suspecting  that  some- 
thing besides  courtesy  had  brought  Burmah  Jones 
there  at  that  hour — or  at  all.  It  was  he  who  looked 
at  his  watch,  and  then  said,  in  surprise : 

"Why,  the  boat  must  have  got  in  early." 

"No,  it  didn't,"  quietly  retorted  Burmah,  facing 
him  with  a  hard  stare,  as  if  appreciating  the  fact 
that  this  stranger  was  too  shrewd  to  be  congenial. 
*'I  missed  it  and  hired  a  tug-boat.  You  didn't  any 
of  you  suppose  I  wouldn't  get  here  for  a  blow- 
out like  this,  did  you.?"  Lester  did  not  answer. 
*'Well,  I  should  say  not!"  declared  Burmah,  answer- 
ing himself. 

"Of   course,   I   knew   it!"   gallantly   asserted   the 


184  THE  BOOMERS. 

Colonel.  "You-ali  might  know  that  my  friend 
Burmah  wouldn't  neglect  an  important  occasion 
where  Miss  Arabella  and  I  are  concerned.  No, 
Sire-e-e!  Had  supper?  No?  Sally!  Oh,  Sally! 
Jeff!  Go  tell  Aunt  Sally  to  get  somethin'  for  Mr. 
Jones  to  eat.  Hurry  up,  now.  Lord,  Burmah! 
You-all  must  be  mighty  near  starved!" 

Already  Arabella  had  tripped  out  of  the  room 
to  act  as  hostess,  and  now  the  Colonel  himself  led 
the  way  up  the  broad  stairs  to  a  chamber  to  dispose 
of  his  guest. 

"Where's  your  grip,  Burmah?"  he  asked,  as  he 
turned  into  the  most  spacious  room  in  the  new 
house. 

"Lost  it  on  the  dock,"  unblushingly  lied  Burmah. 

"I've  done  that  myself,"  said  the  Colonel  com- 
fortingly. "But  you  won't  need  it,  anyhow.  Why, 
bless  you,  Man,  I've  got  hair-brushes  and  night- 
shirts, and  slippers  and — say — I've  got  an  extra 
dress-suit  and  shirt!" 

That  he  was  more  than  six  feet  tall,  and  nearly 
as  thin  as  a  lath,  while  Burmah  was  four  times  as 
big  around  and  considerably  shorter,  did  not  put 
him  out  of  countenance  at  all  in  this  hospitable 
offer.  But  he  had  no  time  to  say  more,  for  now 
was  Burmah's  chance,  and  time  was  precious. 

"It's  possible.  Colonel,"  he  said,  ignoring  the 
proffer  of  the  dress-suit,  but  concealing  any  anxiety, 
"that  two  men  will  come  to  Port  Hatch  to  see  you 
about  buying  land  for  a  subdivision.  One  of  them 
is  named  Wellington,  and  the  other,  Frank  some- 
thing. I've  forgotten  the  name.  They  are  from 
Omaha,  and — " 


THE  BOOMERS.  185 

"They've  already  been  up  here  to  see  me,"  said 
the  Colonel,  and  Burmah's  hopes  dropped  to  zero. 
Everything  in  that  moment  seemed  lost.  Conover's 
partners  had  anticipated  his  message. 

"When  was  that?"  he  asked,  his  voice  exposing 
his  stress. 

"To-day,  Sir,"  answered  the  Colonel.  "And  I 
told  'em  I  couldn't  talk  business  of  any  sort  to-day, 
because  I  was  helping  Miss  Arabella  to  fix  up  the 
house,  and  was  right  busy.  I  invited  them  to  the 
reception,  and  they  said  they'd  come.  Right  nice 
gentlemen  they  were,  too!" 

Burmah  was  relieved.  It  flashed  through  his 
mind  that  perhaps  he  could  explain,  to  drive  away 
suspicion  in  case  Conover  ever  entertained  any,  that 
he  had  forgotten  the  reception,  and  had  come  on  a 
private  boat,  and  disregarded  all  business,  that  he 
might  not  disappoint  so  great  a  man  as  the  Colonel. 
The  way  was  clearing  by  leaps  and  bounds. 

"Well,  Colonel,"  he  said,  "I'm  glad  you  talked 
to  them.  You  are  a  wonder  for  doin'  things.  I 
thought  I  was  goin'  to  bring  you  some  good  news, 
and  here,  just  as  usual,  you  beat  me  to  it." 

His  voice  was  doleful,  expressing  disappointment 
that  he  could  not  have  carried  out  a  big  transaction 
without  the  Colonel's  aid;  and  the  latter  hastened 
to   comfort   him. 

"Beat  you?  No,  Sir.  It's  just  that  faculty  that 
comes  from  commercial  training.  I  do  seem  sort 
of  gifted  in  that  way.  Whenever  a  gentleman 
plunges  into  business.  Sir,  he  succeeds,  if  he  is 
industrious.  Now,  about  these  gentlemen,  I  reckon 
we  must  be  liberal  with  them.     They  appear  to  be 


186  THE  BOOMERS. 

just  the  kind  of  men  we  should  encourage  to  come 
to  this  city,  which  is  sure  to  become  the  highest 
in  its  ideals  of  any  city  in  the  world.  Hubbard 
is  a  great  man." 

He  waved  his  arms,  and  his  eyes  glowed  with 
enthusiasm.  His  youth  seemed  to  have  returned  to 
him,  and  to  have  lent  its  glow  to  his  white  cheeks; 
but  of  these  attractions  Burmah  was  oblivious. 

"Maybe  I  had  better  attend  to  the  deal,  Colonel," 
he  said.  "You  are  wearin'  yourself  out  with  all 
these  details.  It's  about  all  one  man  can  do  to 
make  Port  Hatch  a  real  city,  without  botherin'  his 
head  over  the  little  things." 

"That's  so,"  said  the  Colonel,  with  a  sigh.  "I 
do  get  right  tired,  badgering  my  brains  over  what 
to  do,  and  what  not  to  do.  I'd  be  right  obliged  to 
you,  Burmah,  if  you  would  just  take  charge  of 
the  whole  affair." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  lightly,  "when  they  come 
to  you,  you  just  tell  them  that  you  have  given  me 
authority  to  go  ahead  and  close  the  deal  on  what- 
ever  terms   I   think   best." 

"Thank  you!  Thank  you.  Sir,  for  helping  me 
out  so  much.  I'll  do  it!"  said  the  Colonel,  intent 
on  hastening  back  to  finish  his  decorations.  "That 
settles  that !  Come  down  when  you  get  ready.  Oh, 
yes,  those  brushes !" 

He  came  back  and  deposited  them  on  the  dresser, 
while  Burmah  was  splashing  his  face  in  the  adjoin- 
ing bath-room,  and  then  hurried  down  the  stairs 
to  where  the  laughing  voices,  jests  and  exclamations 
still  told  of  the  presence  of  those  from  Chattanooga, 
and  of  the  quiet  Lester.     When  the  Kansan  joined 


THE  BOOMERS.  187 

them,  the  Colonel  and  Arabella  met  him  and  escorted 
him  to  the  dining-room,  and,  hardened  as  he  was, 
Burmah  Jones  enjoyed  the  thrill  of  the  girl's  hand 
on  his  arm,  her  caress  of  friendly  familiarity.  That 
the  Colonel  sat  with  him  at  the  table  lest  he  should 
be  alone,  a  guest  in  the  house,  also  furnished  food 
for  thought;  and,  beyond  that,  as  he  ate,  with  his 
serviette  tucked  carefully  beneath  his  double  chin, 
there  was  somehow  an  envy  of  those  characteristics 
of  gentility  which  he  had  overlooked.  The  candles 
on  the  table,  glowing  from  candlesticks  that  had 
been  in  the  Hatch  family  for  hundreds  of  years, 
the  tasteful  arrangement  of  flowers,  the  service 
itself,  the  neatness  of  the  quiet  maid,  the  soft 
drawl  of  the  Colonel's  voice,  forever  voicing  his 
dreams  of  a  great  city — all,  everything,  filled  the 
wanderer  with  a  vague  melancholy.  It  was  as  if 
admonitory  voices,  soft  and  insistent  as  the  rustling 
of  fall  breezes  through  the  tamaracks,  whispered 
accusations.  Somewhere  from  his  desultory  read- 
ing, accidental,  not  habitual,  the  compulsory  read- 
ing of  idle  hours  in  railway  trains,  or  hotel  parlors, 
came  that  gleaning  of  the  duty  of  one  to  another 
when  he  has  eaten  of  the  other's  salt;  that  the 
worst  of  crimes  was  betrayal  after  hospitality.  And 
now  it  began  to  appear  to  his  conscience  that  he 
was  eating  of  the  salt  while  his  heart  premeditated 
treachery.  He  heard  the  soft  clamor  of  a  door- 
bell, and  presently  Uncle  Jeff  came  into  the  room, 
and  addressed  the  Colonel,  who  looked  a  question 
at  him  from  beneath  his  heavy  white  eyebrows. 

"It's  dem  musikans,  Sah,"  said  Jeff.  "Dey's 
done  come  on  de  steamboat,  an'  dey  wants  to  know 
whah  dey's  to  git  ready." 


188  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  Colonel  hastily  excused  himself,  with  apolo- 
gies, and  passed  out  of  the  room.  Out  in  the  hall- 
way, Burmah  could  hear  his  hearty  voice. 

"Right  out  here.  Gentlemen!  Right  out  here  on 
the  terrace,  so  that  the  music  can  come  softly 
through  the  big  w^indows.  Right  out  here  on  the 
terrace  amongst  these  palms.  The  palms  are  to 
hide  your  lamps,  gentlemen,  and  to  keep  you-all 
from  being  interrupted.  Music  is  a  divine  art. 
It's  something  that  has  to  be  born  in  men.  It 
makes  them  better.     It  boosts  them  up." 

His  voice  died  away  as  he  took  his  especially 
employed  Seattle  orchestra  out  to  some  invisible 
terrace,  and  bustled  around  to  see  that  they  were 
properly  accommodated.  Burmah  seized  the  moment 
to  escape  from  the  dining-room  and  up  the  stairs, 
where  he  tried  to  make  himself  as  presentable  as 
possible,  and  found  occasion  to  regret  that  he  had 
not  remembered  the  reception,  and  bought  himself 
a  dress-suit.  He  resolved  that  this  would  be  the 
first  purchase  he  made  on  his  return  to  Seattle, 
and  that  never,  thereafter,  would  he  travel  anywhere 
without  one.  He  sat  for  a  long  time  in  brooding 
contemplation  of  his  tan  shoes,  until  summoned 
to  the  door  by  a  gentle  tattoo.  He  opened  it  to 
find  Arabella,  radiant  in  a  simple  evening  gown, 
awaiting  him.  She  looked  up  at  him  with  an  affec- 
tion in  her  eyes  that  stabbed  him,  so  introspective 
had  been  his  mood. 

"I  want  the  honor  of  going  down  on  your  arm, 
Mr.  Jones,"  she  said.  "You  see,  you  are  like  one 
of  our  own  family,  and  Father  told  me  he  would 
forego  the  pleasure,  even  though  he  might  have 
to  fight  you  afterward." 


THE  BOOMEES.  189 

Embarrassed,  he  permitted  her  to  lead  him  down 
the  stairway.  Already  the  musicians  were  playing 
their  first  piece,  and  out  through  the  open  doors 
in  front  of  the  mansion  he  saw  that  lamps  had 
been  lighted,  stretching  away  toward  the  entrance  to 
Marquard  Villa,  and  that  the  guests  were  beginning 
to  arrive.  Arabella  placed  him  at  her  side,  ignor- 
ing for  the  moment  the  attentive  quartet  from  Chat- 
tanooga, and  now,  for  the  first  time,  Burmah 
observed  that  Lester,  too,  seemed  to  have  fallen 
under  her  spell.  Burmah  stood  awkwardly,  striv- 
ing to  imitate  the  graceful  bow  of  the  Colonel,  and 
suffering  introductions.  Most  of  the  men  who  came 
he  had  met  before.  Many  of  them  he  had  regarded 
as  victims.  To  some  of  the  women  he  had  been 
introduced — brave  women  coming  as  pioneers  with 
the  men  by  whom  they  stood  steadfast,  and  never 
until  that  moment  at  the  door  had  he  entertained 
pity  for  any  of  them.  They  greeted  him  as  a 
friend,  and  all  were  happy.  In  flocks  the  Colonel 
led  them  through  the  palace  of  folly,  built  nobly 
on  a  noble  site,  costing  double  what  Hubbard  had 
inteded  it  to  cost,  and  embellished  with  furniture 
that  had  been  collected  through  generations  by 
gentlemen  and  gentlewomen.  Proudly  the  Colonel 
pointed  to  the  paintings;  proudly  he  gave  inter- 
esting bits  of  history  connected  with  some  of  his 
family  heirlooms.  And  always  he  sought  out  Bur- 
mah Jones  to  repeat  to  him,  and  always  he  made 
his  guests  feel  that  Burmah  Jones  was  a  great  and 
refined  man,  partner  in  enterprise,  partner  in 
honesty.  There  were  some  there  garbed  as  inform- 
ally  as   was    Burmah   himself,   and   that   helped   to 


190  THE  BOOMERS. 

put  him  at  his  ease.  Others  were  there  who  appeared 
to  receptions  born,  and  everywhere,  strive  to 
escape  as  he  might,  he  heard  the  glowing  enthusiasm 
of  the  builders,  their  marvelous  faith,  their  splen- 
did loyalty  to  the  city  that  they  were  creating. 

"When  the  railway  comes !"  The  homes  were 
being  erected  on  that  foundation.  The  money  was 
being  confidently  poured  forth  on  that  basis.  And 
Burmah  Jones,  alone  of  all  those  there,  knew  that 
it  was  a  lie,  a  mere  hopeless  figment  from  his  own 
unscrupulous  imagination.  Women,  motherly  and 
charming,  came  to  him,  and  talked  about  it.  Men, 
eager  for  the  latest  news,  sought  him  out  for  advice. 
Hubbard,  arriving  late,  and  looking  worn  by 
work,  and  yet  bright-eyed  in  his  ambition,  hurried 
to  greet  him  as  a  friend.  Little  Billy  got  him 
alone  to  pour  tales  of  the  latest  prospects  for  sales, 
and  even  Kirby  hopefully  stated  that  before  long 
he  would  establish  a  record  for  examining  titles, 
and  that  he  had  already  made  arrangements  to  buy 
several  lots  for  Little  Billy.  There  was  a  flood 
of  happenings  of  which  he  had  not  learned, 
so  engrossed  had  he  been  in  the  task  of  separating 
men  from  their  money.  The  new  hotel  had  been 
opened  for  three  days  now,  and  it  boasted  a  fine 
grill-room.  The  school-house  which  the  Colonel  had 
donated,  would  be  completed  next  week,  and  Hub- 
bard had  found  two  wandering  architectural 
draughtsmen  to  assist  him,  and  the  Colonel  had 
employed  them.  The  Todds  were  going  to  open 
a  general  merchandise  store,  and  they  had  given 
out  a  contract  for  a  building,  suggested  by  Hub- 
bard, that  was  to  be  a  marvel  of  taste. 


THE  BOOMERS.  191 

This  was  an  end  to  his  work  that  Burmah  had 
not  seen  or  given  thought  to.  All  he  knew  was  that 
he  had  sold  lots,  and  lied  as  seemed  best  for  his 
purpose,  and  stuck  to  his  Seattle  offices,  and  let 
the  Colonel  spend  his  share  of  the  money  as  he 
chose.  It  was  none  of  Burmah's  business  if  that 
"nice  old  feller  wanted  to  blow  in  every  cent  as 
fast,  and  faster  than  he  got  it.  Made  business 
better,   anyhow.     Poor   old  chump !" 

But,  now,  Burmah  discovered  something  that  had 
not  appeared  to  him  before,  that  when  the  end 
came,  as  it  must,  these  men  and  women  around 
him,  more  than  two  hundred  in  all,  would  lose  some- 
thing beside  their  money;  they  would  lose  a  little 
of  their  faith  in  humanity,  and  in  him  most  of  all. 
Wholesale  robbery,  he  knew  it  to  be.  Oddly  enough, 
it  was  the  elder  of  the  Todds  who  brought  this  full 
meaning  home  a  little  closer  than  any  of  the  others, 
when  that  lanky  individual  had  cornered  him  as 
he  stood  alone  on  the  terrace,  trying  to  escape  from 
those  within — and  himself. 

"Pretty,  ain't  it?"  said  Todd,  ungainly,  and 
looking  awkward  in  his  "store  clothes,"  as  he  sat 
down  by  Burmah. 

Burmah  merely  grunted. 

"Yes,  Sir,  it's  fine,"  Todd  went  on,  unrebuffed, 
as  if  confident  that  he  was  talking  to  one  congenial. 
"  'Tain't  so  nice,  sometimes,  as  back  where  we  come 
from,  it  seems  to  me;  but  maybe  that's  because  I 
ain't  used  to  high  mountains  like  these.  Jim  and 
me  hated  to  leave  home  when  we  come  out  here. 
[We'd  worked  so  hard,  though,  that  we  thought  we'd 
just  naturally  have  to  do  something  to  git  ahead. 


192  THE  BOOMERS. 

You  see,  we  got  so  many  to  think  about!  Jim's 
been  a  widower  for  nigh  on  to  seven  years,  and  he's 
got  four  little  shavers.  Then  it  did  seem  as  if  our 
family  had  the  worst  luck.  There  were  five 
brothers  of  us,  and  all  married.  I'm  the  oldest. 
I  never  married.  I  sort  of  had  to  drag  the  other 
boys  up,  and  a  sister  too,  after  Paw  and  Maw 
died.  Then  the  others  had  bad  luck.  Two  of  the 
brothers  died  trying  to  save  a  woman  floatin'  down 
the  Mizzouri  when  they  was  a  flood.  Then  the 
other  one,  Tom,  just  worked  himself  to  death,  and 
he  left  us,  and  he  was  the  only  one  that  had  made 
any  money.  He  turned  his  family,  a  widder  and 
four  babies,  over  to  me.  'Will,'  he  says,  when  he 
lay  there  gaspin'  for  breath,  and  coughin',  'send 
'em  all  out  of  the  room.'  So  they  all  went,  and 
we  was  alone.  'Will,'  he  says,  reachin'  over  and 
gettin'  hold  of  my  hand,  'look  after  'em,  won't  you? 
Keep  the  wolves  away  from  the  fold.  Help  'em 
to  grow  up  and  be  decent,  and  honest  and  truth- 
ful. I  want  'em  to  be  real  men  and  women,  Will, 
the  kind  that  never  do  anything  they  need  be 
ashamed  of;  so  they  can  look  other  folks,  and  God 
Himself,  in  the  face  without  droppin'  their  eyes. 
They  don't  any  of  'em,  and  my  wife  least  of  all, 
know  anything  about  how  to  take  care  of  what 
little  I've  got.'  Then  his  voice  got  hoarse,  and  he 
couldn't  talk  for  a  while,  and  just  whispered;  and, 
when  I  bent  over  to  see  if  he  was  still  talkin'  to 
me,  he  was  prayin'  in  his  way,  and  sayin',  'Lord  I 
s'pose  it's  writ  in  the  books  that  I'm  to  be  took 
away,  and  so  I  don't  ask  nothin'  for  myself,  no 
forgiveness,  no  nothin';  only  this.  Lord,  that  you 


THE  BOOMERS.  193 

make  my  brother  Will  a  good  shepherd  for  my 
flock.  Show  him  how,  because  it's  mighty  dark, 
and  we  can't  seem  to  see,  and — '  That  was  all. 
He'd  gone  out  over  that  same  dark  road,  and  I  was 
left  there  alone,  the  shepherd." 

The  orchestra  stopped  its  playing;  but  neither 
of  them  noticed  it — neither  William  Todd,  whose 
weather-beaten,  gnarled,  hard-worked  hands  had 
twisted  themselves  together  on  the  railing,  nor  Bur- 
mah  Jones,  whose  head  had  dropped  low  on  his 
breast,  and  who  was  sprawled  out  with  his  hands 
in  his  pockets. 

"I  don't  know  why  I  should  tell  you  all  this, 
Mister  Jones,"  the  plaintive  voice  went  on,  "except 
that  I  want  to  thank  you — for  both  me  and  my 
brother — for  helpin'  us  along  the  way  you  have. 
We  borrowed  the  money  to  come  out  here  to  start 
with  from  men  that  didn't  have  much,  but  believed 
in  us,  and  let  us  have  what  they  could  spare.  We 
knew  by  the  way  you  was  doin'  things  that  at  last 
it  was  our  chance.  We  saw  Fort  Hatch  goin'  right 
ahead,  and  began  to  make  more  money  than  we'd 
ever  thought  of.  So,  when  we  needed  more  to 
pay  our  bills  because  we'd  sort  of  reached  out 
too  far,  I  knew  it  was  all  right,  and  I've  taken 
everything  that  was  left  by  Tom,  and  put  it,  too, 
into  our  new  building.  That's  all  going  to  be 
theirs — Tom's  children's  and  his  widow's — and 
I'm  goin'  to  try  and  run  it  for  them  so  that  when 
they  come  they'll  be  happy,  and  be  brought  up 
right,  and  so  that  poor  Tom,  if  he  sees  me,  will 
look  over  it  all,  and  know  that  I've  kept  faith,  and 
that  I've  been  a  good  shepherd  for  his  flock.     And, 


194  THE  BOOMERS. 

Mister  Jones,  the  Colonel's  all  right;  but  Jim  and 
me  has  talked  it  over,  and  knows  that  it's  most  all 
due  to  you,  and  so  we  said  that,  whenever  we  got 
the  chance,  we'd  tell  you  about  it,  and  thank  you. 
I'm  thankin'  you  now !" 

He  put  out  one  of  his  harsh  hands,  and  Bur- 
mah  was  compelled  to  accept  it,  and  compelled  to 
look  into  the  overflowing  eyes  that  sought  his 
through  the  light  filtering  between  the  palms.  The 
hand  grasped  his  in  unrestrained  friendliness,  and 
the  eyes  expressed  a  great  gratitude.  Burmah  sud- 
denly got  to  his  feet,  and  fled  from  the  terrace, 
speechless  and  ashamed.  He  found  the  guests 
broken  into  groups,  and  thought  he  might  slip 
unobserved  up-stairs;  but  Arabella  captured  him 
just  as  someone  shouted,  "Speech!  Speech  from 
the  Colonel!" 

The  Colonel,  nothing  loath,  and  beaming  with 
infinite  friendliness  upon  all  those  in  the  room, 
stood  beneath  a  huge  cut-glass  chandelier  that  had 
been  sent  him  from  the  old  Marquard  plantation  as  a 
present  for  his  new  house,  and  gracefully  assumed 
an  oratorical  pose. 

"Neighbors  and  Friends,"  he  said,  "it  is  with  an 
overflowing  heart  that  I  have  welcomed  you  to-night, 
to  a  new  home  of  yours  and  of  mine  in  the  far 
North-west.  It  is,  what  you  see,  a  step  in  the 
direction  of  art  and  comfort  combined.  Its  con- 
ception is  due  to  one  of  the  greatest  genuises  of  this, 
or  any  other  century,  the  man  we  are  all  proud 
of,  the  man  who  is  making  our  city  the  most  per- 
fect of  its  kind  in  the  world,  Mr.  Hubbard." 

He    paused    while    his    hearers    applauded,    and 


THE  BOOMERS.  195 

Hubbard     blushed,     and     looked     wild-eyed,     and 
threatened  to  bolt. 

"It  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  attempt  at 
real  home-building  in  what  is  to  be  a  city  of  which 
we  shall  be  proud.  Other  homes  may  be  built  here, 
far  more  pretentious,  more  elaborate,  costing  more; 
but  in  none  of  them  can  the  hearthstone  wax 
warmer,  or  the  heart  of  the  stranger  be  more  free 
than  in  this.  We  who  are  here  to-night,  are 
pioneers,  in  truth,  bringing  a  greater  victory  than 
that  which  is  led  by  the  bugle  and  the  drum,  the 
victory  of  peace.  Behind  the  charges  of  the  bugle, 
the  drum,  and  the  shining  steel,  is  a  pathway  of 
white  faces,  turned  silently  toward  the  pitiless 
skies,  and  the  mark  of  attempt  is  a  battle-flag 
planted,  ephemerally,  on  the  trodden,  desolated 
field.  Back  of  our  advance,  silent,  save  for  the  ring 
of  the  axe,  and  peaceful,  save  for  our  own  hurried 
industry,  are  no  pitiful  sacrifices  to  havoc  and  ruin, 
and  the  momument  of  our  endeavor  is  the  home. 
We  are  a  little  army,  and  we  come,  not  to  destroy, 
but  to  upbuild,  to  utilize,  to  beautify.  We  are  an 
army  of  ideals,  exalted  by  the  spiritual  desire  to 
create  for  ourselves  a  city  that  shall,  in  its  home 
and  civic  life,  shine  as  an  example  of  what  an 
American  city  may  be  when  founded  by  Americans, 
and  clinging  undeviatingly  to  the  clean  spirit  of 
our  nation.  Port  Hatch  is  not,  and  shall  not  be, 
a  city  of  individual  effort,  but  of  united  aim.  We 
are  not  brothers  in  blood,  but  we  are  a  family  of 
heart,  each  individual  working  for  others  as  cheer- 
fully as  for  himself,  and  each  pouring  his  talents 
on  the   altar   of  Port  Hatch.      Nor   shall  we   fail 


196  THE  BOOMERS. 

to  achieve  the  ideal,  for  we  are  founded  on  that 
rock  of  all  ages,  Honesty !  There  is  no  man  con- 
nected with  Port  Hatch,  thank  God!  who  has  an 
ulterior  motive  in  his  heart.  There  is  none  who  is 
not  fighting  for  the  beauty  of  the  ideal." 

Burmah  lifted  his  eyes  from  the  floor  where  he 
had  held  them  to  conceal  the  sardonic,  cynical 
twinkle  that  flooded  them  despite  his  desire  to 
appear  sincere,  and  they  came  straight  to  meet 
those  of  Lester,  standing  near  at  hand,  and  Lester's 
eyes  bored  him  through  with  a  calm,  merciless  ap- 
praisal under  which  his  own  again  dropped,  as  the 
Colonel  continued,   with   fervor. 

"Two  distinctions  have  been  mine,"  said  the 
Colonel,  in  his  soft,  musical  voice,  "one,  undeserved, 
that  the  city  has  been  named  after  my  family;  and 
the  other,  seized,  that  Marquard  Villa  is  the  first 
home  on  this  beloved  peninsula.  If  I  do  nothing 
else  in  my  life,  if  I  bequeath  nothing  more,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  be  worthy  of  that  gentleman  who  died 
penniless,  his  ancestral  home  burdened  by  mort- 
gages, whose  heirs  discovered  that  his  total  pos- 
sessions were  the  garments  he  wore  and  the  key  to 
the  house  that  no  longer  might  shelter  him  and 
those  he  had  loved.  But  engraved  upon  this  key 
was  that  which  made  it  a  heritage,  that  which  read, 
'For  friends — at  all  times.' 

"Financial  ability  is  an  acquired  and  cultivated 
talent.  Any  gentleman,  if  he  turns  his  attention 
to  commercial  pursuits,  may  achieve  financial  suc- 
cess ;  but  to  comprehend  the  signficance  of  the  scroll 
upon  the  key  left  by  the  dead  man,  is  of  far  greater 
value  to  those  of  the  world  than  to  leave  behind 


THE  BOOMERS.  197 

millions  of  dollars  to  be  scattered.    And  now  I  wish 
to  emphasize  the  meaning  I  expressed  in  the  state- 
ment that  we  of  Port  Hatch  are,  and  shall  be,  as 
those  of  one  family.     I  wish  you  all  to  follow  me." 
He  bowed,  turned  and  led  the  way  out  through 
the  doors  opening  on  the  terrace.     The  moon  had 
arisen    from    behind   the    mountains    that    sheltered 
Port  Hatch,  and  rendered  the  night  bright.    Straight 
out  to   the   end   of   the   house   walked   the   Colonel, 
until  he  stood  where  the  terrace,  in  a  curve,  hung 
over  the   sheer   face  of  the   cliif.     Full  three  hun- 
dred  feet   below,   the   waters   of   the   sound   lapped 
softly  against  the  unyielding  rock,  and  the  gentle 
waves,  racing  in  procession,  were  all  plumed  with 
silver.     In  the  far  distance  old  Puget  was  a  mirror 
for  the  night.     Against  the  horizon   a  high  peak, 
bearing  everlasting  snows,  lifted   itself  toward  the 
stars,   wearing   its    shining   mantle   with   a   dignity 
all  its  own.     The  sounds  of  the  orchestra  from  the 
far  end  of  the  terrace  were  subdued,  soft  and  warm, 
as  the  Colonel's  guests,  trooping  after  him,  paused 
in   quiet   expectancy,   and   to   them,   too,   the   moon 
was  kindly,  as  she  showered  her  light  over  the  soft, 
bared    shoulders    of   women,    upon    their    hair,    and 
upon  their  brows,  caressing  them.     She  lent  grace 
to  the  men,  whether  they  were  garbed  in   conven- 
tional evening  dress,  or  in  plain  business  suits.     She 
threw  a  halo  around  the  shining  white  hair  of  Colonel 
Hatch,   and   illumined  his   fine,   gentle   face,   as   he 
lifted  his  hand  and  again  spoke. 

"Friends,  this  shall  be  the  formal  dedication  of 
our  home,  that  we  have  opened  to  you  all,  to-night, 
and  shall  symbolize  the  truth  that  its  doors  shall 
never  be  locked." 


198  THE  BOOMERS. 

He  held  aloft  a  shining  key,  fresh  from  the  mint, 
poised  it  for  a  moment,  then  hurled  it  far  out  to 
fall  into  the  waters  of  the  sound,  and  the  arc  of 
its  flight  was  like  the  dim,  whirling  light  of 
a  comet  on  its  path  to  extinction.  The  Colonel 
threw  his  arms  wide  in  a  broad  gesture,  as  if  express- 
ing the  wish  that  he  might  take  everything,  his 
guests,  his  home.  Port  Hatch,  the  cherished  ground 
on  which  he  stood,  even  the  rugged  old  mountains, 
to  his  heart,  and  those  who  watched  him,  fascinated 
by  his  kindly  peculiarities,  stood  for  a  moment,  and 
then  rushed  upon  him  to  congratulate.  Arabella 
came  first,  and  clasped  her  arms  around  his  neck; 
and  he  held  her  very  close,  and  drank  the  glory 
of  her  eyes,  which  met  his  with  proud  affection. 
Lester,  big  and  thoughtful,  stood  at  the  edge  of 
the  terrace,  and  watched  them  for  a  moment,  and 
there  was  something  in  his  attitude  that  centered 
the  attention  of  Burmah  Jones,  who  stood  farther 
back.  There  was  a  certain  poise  in  Lester  that 
Burmah  thought  he  had  not  observed  before,  some 
suggestion  of  strength,  some  hint  of  class,  place  and 
power,  which  was  scarcely  in  keeping  with  one  who, 
so  far  as  any  knew,  was  merely  a  gentlemanly 
dawdler  tenting  on  the  beach.  As  if  feeling  Bur- 
mah's  stare,  Lester  suddenly  turned  and  looked  at 
him,  and  then  went  toward  him.  His  face  was 
grave  and  unsmiling,  his  gray  eyes  unwavering  and 
his  brows  slightly  contracted,  as  he  looked  squarely 
into  the  Kansan's  face. 

"Jones,"  he  said,  meaningly,  in  a  low  voice,  dis- 
tinct and  cutting,  "I  should  think  you  would  be 
damned  well  ashamed  of  yourself!" 

And,  before   Burmah   could   recover,   Lester   had 


"This   shall  symbolize  the   truth   that   its   door   shall   never   be 

locked." 


THE  BOOMERS.  199 

passed  deliberately  onward  and  into  the  brilliantly 
lighted  drawing-room.  For  an  instant,  Burmah 
flushed,  took  a  step  as  if  to  follow  Lester,  and  then 
halted.  He  was  not  afraid  of  anything  in  the 
world;  but  he  knew  with  absolute  certainty  that  the 
strange  idler  had  fathomed  him  and  all  his  motives 
with  disturbing  keenness,  and,  also,  that  Lester  was 
not  one  at  whom  he  dared  snap  his  fingers.  He 
wavered  as  to  what  course  he  should  take,  and  in 
that  moment  of  wavering  Arabella  saw  him,  hastened 
to  him,  put  both  hands  on  his  arm  with  a  caress, 
and  smiled   at   him. 

"I  wonder,"  she  said,  softly,  "if  you  know  how 
much  we  all  think  of  you — how  we  appreciate  what 
you  have  done  for  all  of  us — how  great  a  credit  we 
give  you  for  your  work!  Mister  Jones,  my  father, 
the  boys,  Mister  Hubbard — all  of  us — love  you!" 

Her  words,  each  a  thrust,  stabbed  home,  and  he 
could  but  mumble  and  make  an  excuse  to  escape. 
He  asked  her  to  bid  the  Colonel  good-night  for  him, 
claiming  weariness  and  a  wish  to  retire,  and  then 
slipped  hurriedly  away,  and  sought  the  back  stairs. 
Failing  to  find  them,  he  passed  almost  furtively 
through  the  dining-room,  out  into  the  hallway  and 
upward.  He  closed  the  door  of  his  room  behind 
him,  and  stepped  out  upon  the  balcony  that  hung 
beneath  his  window.  This  position  gave  him  a  view 
of  the  mushroom  city,  with  its  spread  of  buildings 
under  construction  showing  like  yellow  skeletons  of 
gold  in  the  moonlight,  its  completed  buildings 
softened  to  an  appearance  of  age  by  the  shadows, 
the  wharves  stretching  out  like  tentacles,  the  ships 
moored  by  them  and  the  piles  of  lumber  over  on 


200  THE  BOOMERS. 

the  flat  from  which  other  buildings  would  be 
erected.  It  was  all  his,  a  creation  of  his  unscrupu- 
lous brazenness.  All  those  below  were  his  victims, 
even  to  that  fine  old  man  whom  he  had  used  as  a 
decoy.  He  had  made  and  kept  money,  the  one  thing 
for  which  he  sought,  and  was  even  then  on  the 
verge  of  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  ultimate  vic- 
tory; and  yet  he  stood  there  stockily,  and  cursed 
himself,  the  day  he  was  born,  the  day  he  had  met 
Colonel  Hatch,  and  his  whole  misspent  life.  For 
an  instant,  he  thought,  wildly  of  going  back  below, 
calling  everyone  around  him,  and  saying  boldly: 

"I  have  defrauded  you — all !  There  is  no  punish- 
ment too  great  for  me;  but,  as  I  am  beyond  pun- 
ishment by  law,  I  shall  punish  myself.  I  shall  be 
the  executioner  of  Burmah  Jones."  Then  he  would 
walk  out  to  the  end  of  the  terrace  and  leap  over 
it  into  the  waters  far  below.  Yet,  that  would  do 
those  who  had  trusted  him,  and  believed  in  him, 
no  good.  He  had  gone  too  far  to  recede.  He  must 
steel  himself  to  play  the  game  through  to  the  end, 
as  he  had  started;  but  he  swore  to  himself  that 
when  he  did  leave,  abandoning  those  behind  to  the 
misfortunes  of  their  folly,  he  would  go  far  away, 
and  begin  life  over  on  a  plan  of  inflexible  rectitude. 
He  returned  to  his  room,  darkened  it,  and,  before 
he  climbed  into  bed,  shut  all  the  windows  tight, 
striving  to  bar  out  the  sounds  of  the  voices  of  those 
whom  he  had  recklessly  despoiled. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AND    THE    KNAVE    FIGHTS. 

JBuRMAH  Jones  a  week  later  walked  slowly  and 
thoughtfully  between  the  big  pillars  leading  to  the 
Marquard  Villa,  and  paused  to  stare  at  two  men 
who  were  working  with  careful  deliberation,  and 
"soldiering"  qualities  manifest,  over  what  presum- 
ably would  some  time  be  a  huge,  ornamental  flower- 
bed. Their  laziness  annoyed  him,  and  he  wished 
that  he  were  the  boss  around  that  place  for  about 
five  minutes,  long  enough,  anyway,  to  discharge  the 
two  offenders,  and  kick  them  off  the  premises. 

"Skaggs  and  Flay!  Humph!  Fishermen  they 
were,  and  now  they're  landscape  gardeners,  work- 
ing for  that  slob,  Hubbard,  who  wants  to  build  a 
flower-pot  on  every  lamp-post,"  he  mumbled  to  him- 
self. "Nobody  but  the  Colonel  would  have  such 
trash  hangin'  around.  I  s'pose  by  this  time  he 
always  refers  to  'em  as  his  very  dear  friends,  and 
that  they  borrow  his  money !" 

He  trudged  on  toward  the  residence,  where,  but 
a  week  before,  he  had  endured  the  pangs  of  a  new- 
born conscience,  and  climbed  the  steps  toward  the 
open  doors,  to  be  met  by  Uncle  Jeff,  who  regarded 
him  as  perhaps  the  greatest  man  living — next,  always, 
to  Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch^  "of  the  Hatches 
of  Tennessee,  Sah!"  The  prophet^  Moses,  had  he 
stepped  out  of  the  clouds,  would  have  been  next, 
always,  in  the  same  way,  to  the  same  Colonel  Hatch, 
in  Jeff's  estimation. 

"Good  maWnin',  Sah,  Kunnel  Jones,"  said  Jeff, 
bending  far  over  several  times,  and  scratching  his  feet 

201 


202  THE  BOOMERS. 

on  the  polished  floor  of  the  hall.  "Ah  reckon  de 
Kunnel  spectin'  you-all  to-day,  Sah.  He'll  shoah 
be  mighty  glad  to  see  you,  though.  He  done  told 
me  whenever  you  come,  Sah,  to  bring  you  right  to 
the  library,  Sah,  whah  he's  workin'.  He's  been 
a  mighty  busy  gemman,  Sah,  since  dey  elect  him 
Mayor  of  dis  city,  Sah." 

Burmah  wondered  what  would  make  the  Colonel 
busy,  and  followed  through  the  house  to  the  library, 
which  had,  already,  under  the  direction  of  Arabella, 
become  a  cozy,  homelike  place  of  infinite  rest  and 
comfort.  As  he  passed  through  the  door,  the 
Colonel  arose  from  a  desk  that  was  littered  with 
papers,  scrawled  over  in  his  crabbed,  punctilious 
hand,  and  laid  his  glasses  on  the  last  sheet. 

"Why,  Burmah!"  he  shouted  effusively,  and  with 
delight  at  sight  of  his  lieutenant  shining  from  his 
eyes.  "I  didn't  expect  to  see  you  to-day;  but  I  told 
Jeff  that,  whenever  you  came,  at  any  hour  of  the 
day  or  night,  you  were  always  to  be  brought  right 
straight  to  me.  I'm  mighty  glad  to  see  you.  Maybe 
you  can  lend  me  your  asistance.  I'm  preparing  a 
very   important   and  historical   document." 

"And  what's  that?"  demanded  Burmah,  as  he 
dropped  into  a  chair. 

"Well,  you  see  it's  this  way,"  said  the  Colonel, 
with  great  gravity.  "At  the  mass-meeting  when 
we  organized,  I  was  unanimously  elected  Mayor  of 
Port  Hatch.  Quite  an  honor.  Sir,  to  be  the  first 
Mayor  of  this  city.  I  appreciate  to  the  full  my 
responsibilities.  Mine  is  an  epoch-making  term  of 
office;  so  I  thought,  don't  you  see,  that  I  ought  to 
make  a  sort  of  proclamation,  or  address,  or  some- 
thing like  that,  the   same  way  Presidents   do  when 


THE  BOOMERS.  203 

they  take  office.  Only,  this  is  a  Mayor's  message. 
Mr.  Picket  has  kindly  consented  to  run  it  on  the 
front  page  of  The  Banner,  and  has  sent  to  Seattle 
to  get  a  right-big  cut  of  an  eagle  with  screamin' 
wings,  that  will  go  clean  across  the  top  of  the  page 
for  this  momentous  issue.  Also,  I  told  him  to  have 
five  thousand  extra  copies  printed,  so  my  message 
could  be  sent  away  to  those  friends  of  mine  that 
might  want  to  read  it,  and  to  sell  to  the  many 
folks  that  will  be  interested,  hereafter — after  I  am 
gone — in  my  views  and  utterances." 

Burmah  sat  staring  at  him  in  open-mouthed 
astonishment,  and  suppressed  a  rising  desire  to 
laugh  when  he  saw  that  the  Colonel  actually  took 
himself  as  seriously  as  if  the  fate  of  nations  de- 
pended on  his  views.  The  proclamation  of  a  Caesar 
had  no  more  weight  in  the  eyes  of  the  Colonel  than 
this  first  address  of  his  as  Mayor  of  Port  Hatch. 
Burmah  straightened  himself  with  a  jerk,  when  he 
saw  that  the  Colonel  had  picked  up  the  first  sheet, 
and  threatened  to  read  the  entire  manuscript 
through. 

"I'd  like  to  hear  it,  Colonel,"  he  said,  "only  that 
I've  got  a  lot  of  things  to  talk  about." 

He  reached  in  his  pocket,  and  drew  out  a  closely 
folded  slip  of  paper.  His  pudgy  hands  unfolded 
it  with  a  quick  motion,  and  he  threw  it  on  the  desk 
before  the  financier  from  Chattanooga. 

"There,"  he  said  quietly,  "is  the  bank's  receipt 
for  fifty  thousand  dollars  placed  to  your  credit. 
I  have  taken  fifty  thousand  for  myself." 

"Quite  right,  Burmah !  Quite  right,"  said  the 
Colonel;  and  then,  as  it  dawned  on  him  that  he  had 
fifty    thousand    dollars    in    cash    all    at    one    time: 


20i  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Most  amazin'!  Most  amazin'  what  a  gentleman 
can  do  when  he  starts  in  to  conquer  the  financial 
world." 

'^I  got  better  terms  than  I  thought  I  could, 
from  Conover,"  Burmah  went  on.  "Him  and  his 
pardners  agree  to  pay  us  fifty  thousand  more  at 
the  end  of  six  months,  and  another  fifty  at  the  end 
of  the  year." 

The  Colonel  stared  out  of  the  window,  as  if 
fascinated  by   some   object  in  the   distance. 

"Also,"  said  Burmah,  in  the  same  quiet  voice, 
*^I  have  decided  that  it's  best  for  me  to  be  here  all 
the  time.  I've  brought  my  trunk  up  with  me.  I've 
got  the  Seattle  ofiice  runnin'  like  clock-work,  and 
Billings  is  a  good  man.  Folks  are  goin'  to  come 
here,  after  this,  more  than  they  are  to  Seattle, 
I'm  goin'  to  see  it  through,  right  here,  Colonel." 

The  Colonel  did  not  appreciate  the  renunciation 
that  was  conveyed  in  the  Kansan's  last  words,  for 
he  had  never  suspected  that  Burmah  Jones  had  any 
other  course  in  his  mind;  yet  that  announcement 
had  cost  the  latter  sleepless  nights  and  the  uproot- 
ing of  old  methods. 

"We  may  not  do  all  we  expected  to,  and  we  may 
fall  down  at  the  end  of  the  race,"  continued  Bur- 
mah; "but.  Colonel,  we'll  run  it  out,  straight  and 
fair,  even  if  we  drop  dead  at  the  finish." 

Something  in  his  tone  attracted  the  Colonel's 
interest,  and  he  looked  a  question,  but  Burmah's 
eyes    did  not  waver  from  their  habitual  steady  stare, 

"And,  Colonel,"  Burmah  went  on  in  that  same 
controlled  voice,  "I've  got  just  one  favor  to  ask, 
because  I  think  I'm  better  able  to  handle  real-estate 
than  you  are,  and  that  is  that,  no  matter  who  come* 


THE  BOOMERS.  205 

to  you,  no  matter  what  person  asks  you  to  make  a 
deal,  you  will  turn  it  over  to  me.  If  they  ask  you 
when  the  railroad  is  comin'  here,  I  want  you  to  tell 
'em  to  come  to  me.  Tell  'em  you  don't  know.  You 
don't!  Neither  do  I;  but  I'm  the  one,  after  this, 
that's  goin'  to  do  all  the  explanation  work.  If,  by 
bad  luck,  she  never  comes,  they'll  have  no  one  to 
blame  but  themselves,  and  they  won't  be  able  to  say 
that  Burmah  Jones,  or  Colonel  Hatch,  ever  hooked 
them  into  it  by  a  lie." 

He  was  annoyed  by  the  Colonel's  absent-minded- 
ness, for  the  latter,  long  before  the  close  of  the 
speech,  was  again  gazing  dreamily  out  of  the 
window.  And  he  answered  Burmah  as  if  he  had  but 
half-heard,  assenting,  as  usual,  to  any  arrangement 
that  might  be  made. 

"That's  right  good  of  you,  Burmah,  to  take  so 
much  work  off  my  shoulders.  I'll  give  you  advice 
whenever  you  need  it,  and  I'll  send  them  all  to  yoU, 
if  they  come  to  me.  I'm  right  glad  you  made  this 
last  deal,  because  I've  got  a  right-smart  need  for 
the  money.  I'm  studyin'  mighty  hard  whether  gray 
or  blue  would  be  the  best  colors  for  uniforms  for  the 
police  force,  and  whether  or  not  Skaggs  and  Flay 
would  make  good  officers  of  the  law.  They  do 
aggravate  me  sometimes !" 

Burmah  got  up,  as  near  to  being  in  a  hopeless  rage 
as  he  ever  got,  and  clapped  his  hat  on  his  head. 

"If  I  were  you,"  he  said,  turning  toward  the 
door,  "I'd  have  'em  pink !" 

"Pink?  Pink?"  queried  the  Colonel,  arising  to 
show  him  out,  "I  never  thought  of  that!  I  think 
I'll  ask  Hubbard  about  it." 

Out  at  the  door,  he  recalled  the  statement  that 


206  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmah  was  going  to  make  his  headquarters  in  Port 
Hatch. 

"Of  course,"  he  said,  "you  sent  your  trunk  here, 
Burmah?" 

"No,  Colonel;  I  think  it's  better  for  me  to  take 
the  rooms  over  the  offices." 

The  Colonel's  face  expressed  great  disappoint- 
ment. 

"Why,  Burmah!"  he  declared,  his  voice  express- 
ing hurt  amazement.  "When  we  built  Marquard 
Villa,  Arabella  and  I  pointed  to  the  room  on  the 
plans  that  we  were  to  call  the  Burmah  room!  It's 
the  one  you  slept  in  the  other  night.  If  that  room 
doesn't  suit  you,  you  can  have  any  one  in  the  house. 
You  can  have  two,  if  none  of  'em  are  big  enough." 

As  usual,  Burmah's  adroit  wits  found  a  way  to 
compromise. 

"S'pose  you  just  keep  that  same  room  for  me, 
Colonel,"  he  said,  "and  as  soon  as  I  can  get  around 
to  it,  I'll  come  up  and  fill  it.  I'd  do  it  now;  only, 
while  this  rush  is  on,  I  guess  I  ought  to  be  down 
there  where  I  can  talk  to  customers  nights,  if  they 
happen  to  come  in  late." 

The  Colonel  did  not  seem  sufficiently  impressed. 
Burmah  promptly  adopted  another  tact.  He  swelled 
his  chest  with  something  of  his  old  time  flamboyant 
air,  and  held  his  finger  aloft  in  the  manner  of  the 
man  who  said,  "There  is  hope,"  and  spoke  with 
great  decision. 

"This  is  no  time  for  us  to  jib  at  the  jumps. 
Colonel,  me  and  you  are  making  the  most  glorious 
city  that  has  ever  been  kicked  into  existence.  It 
must  be  Port  Hatch,  first,  last,  and  all  the  time. 
Everything  must  be  sacrificed  to  Port  Hatch!    You 


THE  BOOMERS.  207 

are  furnishin'  all  the  brains,  and  me  the  executive 
work.  Until  we  can  get  her  ahead  a  leetle  mite 
further,  I've  got  to  be  close  on  the  job.  They 
ain't  nothin'  in  the  world  would  suit  me  so  much 
as  to  come  up  here  to  live,  but  I've  just  got  to  stick 
down  there  for  a  while,  till  Port  Hatch  is  recognized 
as  the  Queen  City  of  the  North-west." 

The  Colonel,  touched  on  the  tender  spot,  arose 
to  the  occasion. 

"Burmah,  I  beg  your  pardon.  Sir,  for  having 
seemed  trying  to  deflect  you  from  our  manifest  duties. 
It  is  most  commendable  that  you  are  a  man  who 
follows  an  undeviating  line  toward  an  ideal.  You 
make  me  feel  ashamed  of  myself,  Sir,  and  proud  to 
be  associated  with  such  a  man  as  you;  but  no  other 
man  shall  ever  sleep  in  the  Burmah  room,  be  he 
King,  or  President,  until  you  come  to  take  it  as 
your  own.     My  hand.  Sir!" 

He  walked  as  far  as  the  gate,  extracted  a 
promise  from  Burmah  to  call  that  evening,  and 
then,  his  message  to  the  people  forgotten,  began 
admiring  some  roses  on  bushes  that  had  been 
brought,  at  considerable  expense,  from  Tennessee. 
Burmah  trudged  slowly  and  thoughtfully  along  the 
road,  stopping  in  front  of  every  building  and  pile 
of  lumber,  and  scrutinizing  each.  His  tabulated 
memory  instantly  recalled  each  owner,  and  the  detail 
of  each  sale.  Here  was  a  residence  being  built  by  a 
man  who  had  told  him  that  he  was  merely  taking  a 
gamble  on  the  railway's  reaching  Port  Hatch.  Here 
was  another  one  where  he  had  told  the  purchaser 
that  the  railway  was  a  positive  certainty,  and  he 
began  to  think  how  many  such  cases  there  might  be  in 
the   mushroom   city.     He   flinched   mentally   as   he 


208  THE  BOOMERS. 

thought  apprehensively  of  the  time  when  all  these 
individuals  would  realize  that,  if  they  had  not  been 
actually  tricked  into  buying  land,  and  squandering 
money  thereon,  they  would  at  least  be  in  a  position 
to  call  the  men  back  of  Port  Hatch  pitiable  fools 
and  unworthy  of  credence.  But  he  set  his  heavy 
jaws -grimly,  and  scowled,  and  clung  to  the  resolution 
so  hardly  arrived  at:  that,  no  matter  what  befell, 
he,  Burmah  Jones,  would  be  there  at  the  end,  and 
would  face  the  music.  He  stopped  at  the  head  of 
Main  Street,  and  scanned  it,  and  half-reluctantly 
£^dmitted  that  there  must  be  something  in  Hubbard 
vaove  than  he  had  believed  possible ;  for  there  was  har- 
mony in  the  architecture  of  the  business  buildings 
that  were  creeping  along  toward  the  distance,  and 
a  new  note,  too,  for  Hubbard  had  adopted  the 
uniformity  of  a  quaint  old  English  style.  For  the 
sake  of  the  advertising  value,  Burmah  had  permit- 
ted him  to  be  the  sole  arbiter  of  what  should  be 
built  on  that  model  street,  and  had  inserted,  some- 
times after  great  argument,  such  a  clause  in  every 
deed  of  sale.  The  overhanging  balconies,  with 
flower-boxes  laden  with  color,  the  pitched  roofs, 
redly  stained,  the  quaint  signs,  all  lent  the  street 
a  charming  individuality. 

"If  only  there  had  been  a  railway!"  Burmah 
gighed  to  himself,  as  he  turned  toward  the  building 
that  was  to  be  his  workshop  and  his  home. 

His  first  act  was  to  get  every  scrap  of  advertising 
copy  that  was  to  be  sent  out,  and  carefully,  pains- 
takingly, he  minimized  that  portion  bearing  on  the 
railway.  He  knew  that  this  must  not  be  too  sharply 
done,  lest  it  attract  attention.  His  campaign  was 
already  outlined  in  his  own  mind,  and  he  proposed, 


THE  BOOMERS.  209 

by  gradual  steps,  to  eliminate  everything  except  the 
bare  suggestion  that  the  Transcontinental  road 
might  possibly  make  Port  Hatch  its  terminal,  while 
at  the  same  time  boosting,  with  might  and  main, 
the  artistic  and  home  features  of  the  new  town. 
This  task  done,  he  opened  his  mail,  and,  first  of 
all,  seized  the  envelopes  from  clipping-bureaus  to 
which  he  had  subscribed  and  from  which  he  had 
ordered  everything  that  appeared  in  the  papers 
pertaining  to  the  progress,  or  financing,  of  the  A. 
&  O.  Railway.  Rapidly  he  scanned  the  clippings,  and 
one  by  one,  with  a  grunt  of  satisfaction,  threw  them 
aside  into  a  pile.  Work  on  the  railway  had  not 
stopped,  but  was  seemingly  being  rushed  faster  than 
ever,  and  the  financial  news  intimated  that  the 
unknown  capitalists  behind  the  enterprise  were 
Englishmen,  seeking  to  outdo  the  lines  of  Canada, 
and  that  possibly  the  road  would  soon  veer  north- 
ward. He  smiled  sceptically  at  this,  for  there  was 
not  the  slightest  doubt  in  his  mind  that  this  was  a 
road  being  built  by  American  interests,  and  that 
the  terminus  would  be  Seattle.  There  were  reports 
of  surveying  parties  being  seen  here  and  there  in  the 
far  West,  and  steadily  approaching  the  borders  of 
the  State  of  Washington.  Once  they  entered  the 
State,  the  downfall  of  Port  Hatch  was  imminent. 
A  fake  surveying  party,  running  lines  across  the 
State  from  one  of  the  true  A.  &.  O.  surveys  would 
help  for  a  time,  if  it  ran  a  line  through  to  Port 
Hatch.  That  must  be  attended  to.  Already,  he 
began  casting  over  in  his  mind  the  names  of  friends 
in  the  East,  old  confidence  operators  like  himself, 
who  could  be  depended  upon  to  employ  such  a 
surveying  party,  and  start  it  out,  and  at  the  same 


210  THE  BOOMERS. 

time  preserve  the  secret.  There  was  Diamond  Bill, 
who  had  operated  the  Omaha.  The  last  Burmah 
had  heard  of  him  he  was  somewhere  on  the  New 
Jersey  coast,  promoting  a  process  for  getting  gold 
out  of  the  sea  waves.  Bill  might  attend  to  the 
survey  matter  for  him;  but  he  would  want  a  big 
slice  of  money  for  the  job.  There  was  Deacon 
Wills,  whose  specialty  was  selling  fake  mining  stock 
to  church  congregations,  but  heaven  only  knew 
where  the  Deacon  could  be  found.  There  was  the 
Count  Mareschal  de  Benoit,  known  in  private  as 
Bill  Slack;  but  the  Count,  unfortunately,  was  doing 
a  five-year  sentence  in  a  Federal  prison.  Habit 
held  the  active  brain  of  Burmah  in  its  spell  for  a 
long  time,  and  he  walked  backward  and  forward 
the  length  of  his  room,  in  an  aimless  effort  to  think 
who  best  would  serve  his  purpose.  He  paused  in 
front  of  the  window,  with  hands  in  his  pockets,  and 
hat  pulled  down  over  his  eyes,  just  as  a  man  passed 
along  the  street.  In  the  heavy  gait  of  the  over- 
worked, the  awkward  swing  of  the  muscle-bound 
arms,  and  the  bent  shoulders,  Burmah  recognized 
the  elder  Todd,  the  man  who  had  taken  upon  him- 
self the  burden  of  caring  for  the  helpless,  and  Jones 
suddenly  whirled  back  from  the  window,  and  brought 
one  fat  fist  smashing  into  the  other  palm. 

"It's  crooked !  It's  plumb  crooked !"  he  muttered, 
emphatically.  "The  railway  won't  come  here;  but, 
if  it  does,  or  it  don't,  I'm  goin'  to  play  the  game  as 
square  as  I  can  from  now  on.  I'm  through  fakin', 
if  it  kills  me!" 

Angry  with  himself  for  ever  having  wavered,  he 
tramped  down  the  stairs  and  into  Hubbard's  office. 
Here  he  found  the  engineer  going  over  some  plans 


THE  BOOMERS.  211 

that  had  just  been  submitted  by  one  of  the  hired 
architects. 

"What's  that?"  demanded  Burmah,  glancing  over 
Hubbard's  shoulder  at  something  that  looked  like 
a  miniature  Greek  temple. 

"The  new  City  Hall  we  are  to  build,"  said  the 
author  of  the  "City  Beautiful." 

Burmah's  lips  parted,  and  he  drew  in  his  breath. 

"Who's  doin'  that?"  he  asked,  although  guessing 
the  answer. 

"Colonel  Hatch  is  donating  it  to  the  city,"  replied 
Hubbard. 

"Humph !  I  might  have  known  it,"  said  Burmah, 
looking  at  the  drawing.  "And  how  much  will  that 
cost  him?" 

"Probably  a  little  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,"  the  engineer  said,  consulting  a  tablet  of 
figures  on  his  desk. 

"And  what  are  all  these  sketch  things  you've  got 
here?"  asked  Burmah,  pointing  at  a  pile  of  draw- 
ings in  water-color  on  another  table. 

"Those  are  for  the  Park  that  we  are  laying  out 
at  the  head  of  Main  Street,"  answered  Hubbard. 
"But  that  is  fairly  well  completed  now.  The  Colonel 
insisted  that  we  have  at  least  a  hundred  men  work- 
ing there,  and  with  that  number  it  doesn't  take  very 
long  to  make  all  the  purely  mechanical  outlay  on  a 
park.  Nature  has  to  have  time  to  do  her  part. 
It  will  be  very  fine  when  finished.  You  see,  I  have 
modeled  it  somewhat  after  the  Englischer  Gartens 
of  Munich,  Bavaria,  a  park  I  have  always  con- 
sidered a  rare  combination  of  art  and  nature.  The 
lake,  you  see  there,  is  already  nearly  full,  because 
we    found    a    hollow    that    opportunely    fitted    our 


212  THE  BOOMERS. 

purpose,  and  diverted  water  from  the  reservoir  into 
it.  Here  is  the  drawing  for  the  Children's  Temple. 
This   is    for   the   Zoological   Garden,      This   is    for 


He  did  not  finish,  but  stood  with  the  drawing  in 
his  hand,  staring  at  the  angry  back  of  Burmah 
Jones,  as  the  latter,  with  a  gesture  of  impotence, 
suddenly  turned  and  waddled  out  of  the  room. 

"No  sense  of  the  artistic  whatever!"  exclaimed 
Hubbard,  wrathfully,  as  he  threw  the  drawing  back 
on  the  pile.  "How  in  the  world  he  and  the  Colonel 
ever  got  together,  I  can't  understand!  Knows 
money,  and  nothing  else!  Absolutely  no  artistic 
perception !" 

Burmah,  as  he  climbed  back  up  the  stairs  to  his 
own  work,  felt  himself  a  stranger  in  Port  Hatch. 
At  once,  he  immersed  himself  in  memoranda  for 
press-notices,  and  details  of  his  task  that  had  to  be 
picked  up.  Not  many  minutes  passed  before  he 
was  disturbed  by  the  sounds  of  shouting,  and,  lift- 
ing the  window,  he  called  to  the  first  man  whose 
attention  he  could  attract,  asking  the  cause  of  the 
turmoil. 

"Why,  it's  the  dedication  of  the  new  school- 
house,"  replied  the  man,  a  stranger  to  Burmah. 
"Colonel  Hatch  is  going  to  speak,  and  there  are  to 
be  some  exercises,  and  singing,  and  a  flag-raising, 
and  everyone  with  an  interest  in  the  town'll  be 
there." 

Tired  of  work,  Burmah  slipped  on  his  coat,  and 
joined  the  movement.  Along  the  street  came  one 
of  the  two  taxi-cabs  with  the  Colonel  and  Arabella 
in  it,  the  Colonel  bowing  and  smiling  from  right  to 
left  in   acknowledgment   of  the   greetings   of  thoise 


THE  BOOMERS.  213 

who  knew  him,  and  he  appeared  as  happy  as  an 
emperor  driving  to  the  forum  to  receive  congratu- 
lations for  a  triumph.  Behind  him  came  the  second 
taxi-cab  with  the  newly  ^elected  members  of  the 
school-board,  and  they,  too,  bowed  and  smiled.  Fol- 
lowing here  appeared  three  lumber  wagons,  each 
surmounted  by  a  platform,  decorated  with  bunting, 
and  seating,  in  pyramids,  rows  of  grave-faced  little 
girls,  dressed  in  white  and  carrying  flowers.  Bur- 
mah's  lips  twisted  into  a  sneer  of  contempt  as  he 
saw  this  parade,  which,  he  correctly  surmised,  had 
been  planned  and  was  being  executed  by  the  Colonel 
himself;  but  he  thought  it  best,  that  he  might  not 
be  accused  of  indifference  to  the  welfare  of  the 
town,  to  follow  with  other  of  the  citizens  toward  the 
school-house. 

He  saw  that  the  stores  had  all  been  closed  in 
honor  of  the  event,  and  that  some  of  them  had  blos- 
somed out  into  flags  and  bunting.  Even  the  club- 
house appeared  deserted.  He  admitted  to  himself 
that  the  school-house  was  rather  pretty  for  a  small 
building.  He  edged  his  way  around  the  outskirts 
of  the  crowd  to  where  he  could  see  the  temporary 
platform  that  had  been  flung  across  the  front  of 
the  building  for  celebration  purposes.  He  chewed 
the  end  of  his  cigar,  and  smiled  when  the  Colonel 
and  Arabella  mounted  the  stand,  followed  by  the 
school-board,  and  the  little  girls  in  white.  The 
crowd  cheered  lustily  as  the  Colonel  advanced  to 
the  front,  and  in  true  oratorical  style  paused  long 
enough  to  drink  a  glass  of  water  before  beginning 
his  speech.  Burmah  grinned  again,  and  thought 
to  himself  that  probably  the  Colonel  would  have 
preferred   a   mint- julep,   and   would   have   had   the 


214  THE  BOOMERS. 

julep,  but  that  he  feared  it  might  set  a  bad  example 
to  the  children.  Nevertheless,  Jones  was  slightly 
touched  by  the  picture  of  the  kindly  old  Colonel, 
standing  there  with  his  black  slouch  hat  folded 
carefully  under  one  arm,  a  hand  thrust  into  the 
lapel  of  his  "Prince  Albert"  coat,  and  the  wander- 
ing breeze  from  the  mountainside  diarranging  his 
waving  white  hair. 

The  Colonel  indulged  in  a  wonderful  burst  of 
oratory,  savoring  of  speeches  he  had  made  in  the 
sunny  South,  and  filled  with  poetical  allusions  and 
grandiloquent  phrases.  He  had  many  of  the  fine 
old  platitudes  about  "future  Presidents"  and  "the 
little  red  school-houses  being  the  cradles  of  liberty" ; 
yet  he  could  not  finish  without  coming  back  to  his 
hobby. 

"The  greatest  blessing  given  to  an  American 
citizen.  Neighbors,"  he  said,  in  a  gravely  modu- 
lated voice,  "is  to  have  the  God-inspired  gift  of 
creating  something  which  shall  beautify  the  world, 
make  the  desert  blossom  like  the  rose,  and  give  the 
glad  sun  as  he  climbs  the  peaks  of  the  universe, 
performing  his  daily  task  of  bringing  light  to  his 
children  below,  something  fair  to  look  upon.  May 
he,  in  his  everlasting  rounds  fail  not  to  smile  upon 
the  proudly  beautiful  city  which  we,  by  the  efforts 
of  our  hands  and  hearts,  are  here  creating,  and 
particularly  on  this  blessed  edifice  which  we  will 
now  dedicate  fittingly  by  the  hoisting  of  our  nation's 
flag.  I  fought  against  it  once,  being  a  fool  in  his 
folly;  but  now  I  fight  for  it,  as  will  all  those  who 
come  after  me  from  this  abode  of  learning." 

He  was  choking  with  emotion  as  he  turned  and 
gave    a    signal.      A  slim    school-teacher    lifted    her 


THE  BOOMERS.  215 

hand,  and  the  little  girls  in  shrill,  childish  notes 
burst  into  "My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee,"  and  the 
Colonel,  enthusiastic,  sprang  to  the  front  of  the 
platform,  and  beckoned  for  the  spectators  to  partic- 
ipate, he  himself  joining  in  with  a  high,  cracked 
treble,  quite  distinctly  out  of  time  and  tune.  The 
banner  was  run  up  by  Arabella,  and  the  Colonel's 
excitement  increased  as  he  watched  the  wind  catch 
it,  and  whip  its  folds  out  in  gorgeous  billows. 

The  hymn  ended,  and  the  choir  appeared  on  the 
point  of  disbanding,  when  the  Colonel  again  re- 
strained them  all  by  pumping  his  arms  up  and  down 
like  flails,  and  demanding  a  hearing. 

"I'm  going  to  ask  you  one  favor,  the  first  I've 
ever  asked  from  anyone  in  Port  Hatch,"  he  said, 
"and  I'm  sure  you  all  won't  mind  gratifying  an  old 
man's  whim.  I  want  every  one  to  join  with  me  in 
singing  a  song  I  love.    I  want  to  hear  'Dixie  Land.'  " 

There  was  a  wild  shout  from  the  place  where  the 
four  young  lawyers  from  Chattanooga  stood,  and 
again  the  Colonel  sang;  only  Arabella,  who  caught 
him  furtively  wiping  his  eyes,  knew  that  homesick 
strings  had  been  touched  in  the  harp  of  his  memory. 
He  at  last  descended  the  platform  to  receive  con- 
gratulations. But  Burmah,  trying  to  preserve  his 
remnant  of  cynicsm,  slipped  away,  saying  to  him- 
self: 

"Singin'  like  an  old  simpleton!  Him!  Humph! 
Might  make  a  good  boy  soprano  in  a  church  choir 
with  what  voice  he's  got!"  Then,  after  a  moment, 
his  good  humor  returning,  he  added,  still  to  him- 
self: "But  what  right  have  I  got  to  judge  his  singing? 
— me,  who  never  tried  to  sing  before  three  o'clock  in 
the  mornin'!" 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  GOOD  BUT  HOPELESS  BATTLE. 

Pick,  after  languidly  explaining  to  Little  Billy 
that  he  thought  he  would  stay  at  the  club  that 
evening,  and  play  bridge  whist,  made  his  way  after 
dusk  toward  Marquard  Villa,  whither  Little  Billy 
had  gone  after  impressing  it  upon  Tommy  that  he 
had  a  lot  of  work  to  do  that  night.  And  Tommy 
had  yawned  in  Kirby's  face,  and  said  he  was  "going 
to  hit  the  hay  early,"  and  then  promptly  taken  a 
back  route  along  the  cliff.  So  Burmah,  when  he 
arrived,  found  the  quartet  surrounding  Arabella, 
one  accusing  another  of  taking  unfair  advantage. 
Arabella,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  peace-maker, 
was  pouring  on  the  troubled  waters  an  imitation  of 
oil  that  tended  to  aggravate  rather  than  pacify 
them,  and  was  enjoying  herself  to  the  utmost.  The 
Colonel  paced  up  and  down  the  terrace  with  his 
hands  clasped  beneath  his  coat-tails,  trying  his 
hardest  to  make  a  sonnet  to  the  moon,  and  Uncle 
Jeff  was  bemoaning  the  lack  of  real  "yarbs"  to 
make  a  proper  mint -julep. 

Burmah  came  with  an  air  of  determination,  and, 
without  ringing  the  bell,  or  waiting  for  Uncle  Jeff, 
sought  the  voices.  The  quartet  and  Arabella  pounced 
upon  him  to  act  as  arbiter,  and,  before  he  knew  it, 
he  was  involved  in  the  good-natured  squabble. 

"What  they're  fighting  about,"  she  explained,  "is 
whether  it's  ethical  for  four  young  men  to  mislead 
one  another  for  a  selfish  purpose." 

216 


THE  BOOMERS.  217 

"Depends  on  the  purpose,"  said  Burmah,  tact- 
fully. 

"Purpose?  Why,  they  were  coming  here  to  see 
me,  and  there  wasn't  a  one  of  them  invited  as  an 
individual.     I  asked  them  all  to  come." 

"Conditions  alter  cases,"  judicially  said  Burmah, 
with  vast  seriousness.  "But  all's  fair  in  love  and 
war,  and  I've  always  held  to  the  rule  that  the  correct 
thing  to  do  is  to  be  sure  to  beat  the  other  feller 
to  anything  you  start  after.  I  hadn't  thought  of 
it,  before,"  he  added,  whimsically,  "but  it  seems  to 
me  that  I  ought  to  marry  you,  myself.  Will  you 
have  me?" 

There  were  shouts,  of  "Unfair!"  "Prejudiced 
Judge,"  and  "One  at  a  time,"  from  the  quartet; 
but  Burmah  stilled  them  with  a  wave  of  his  hand. 

"I  hadn't  thought  of  it  before,"  replied  Arabella, 
smiling  at  him,  "but  I'm  not  sure,  on  consideration, 
that  I  wouldn't  a  little  bit  rather  marry  you  than 
any  of  those  who  have  so  persistently  and  repeatedly 
asked  me.  I'll  take  time  to  think  it  over,  if  you'll 
be  good  enough  to  give  me — say — two  or  three  weeks 
for  deliberation." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  with  the  utmost  gravity,  as 
he  turned  to  the  quartet,  "I  think  you  fellers  ought 
to  stand  aside  while  there's  a  deal  bein'  considered. 
Now,  havin'  attended  to  that  part  of  my  business, 
I  guess  I'll  go  out  and  see  the  Colonel." 

He  brought  his  heels  together,  reached  over  and 
caught  one  of  Arabella's  hands  in  his,  and  gravely 
bent  and  kissed  it.  And  she  flushed  a  trifle,  for  she 
could  not  be  sure  whether  his  eyes,  usually  mocking, 
were  not  now  in  earnest.  She  looked  at  him,  wifh 
a  vague  sense  of  perturbation,  as  he  quietly  walked 


218  THE  BOOMERS. 

away,  and  out  to  where  he  could  intercept  the 
Colonel. 

"Colonel,"  he  said  to  the  latter  at  the  end  of  the 
terrace,  "I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  something 
that's  none  of  my  business.     It's  as  a  friend." 

The  Colonel  appeared  to  think  that  Burmah  had 
come  to  him  for  advice,  and  exhibited  a  conde- 
scending, gracious  air,  as  he  led  the  way  to  the 
corner  of  the  terrace,  where  the  concrete  benches 
were  covered  with  heavy  cushions,  and  seated  him- 
self. 

"Burmah,"  he  said,  "if  I  can  be  of  any  assistance 
to  you,  Sir,  in  any  trouble  that  you  may  have,  I 
am  always  at  your  service." 

*'It  ain't  about  me.  Colonel,"  said  Burmah,  slight- 
ly exasperated;  "it's  about  you.  I  saw  the  plans 
to-day  for  the  new  City  Hall.  Hubbard's  all  right, 
but  that  thing  looks  to  me  pretty  all-fired  imprac- 
tical. Any  town  of  this  size  that  has  a  City  Hall 
usually  has  rooms  for  offices  up  above  it,  and  a 
store-room  or  two  alongside  for  practical  rental 
purposes,  so  that  the  City  Hall  will  pay  for  itself 
— the  sort  of  a  building  that'll  bring  in  returns  on 
the  investment.  Why  don't  you  try  to  put  your 
money  out  so's  you'll  get  something  back  for  it.'*" 

The  Colonel  waved  his  hand,  and  looked  out  over 
the  sound. 

"Burmah,"  he  said,  with  fine  dignity,  "you  don't 
understand.  Any  place  which  houses  a  branch,  a 
piece,  a  part,  of  our  immortal  National  Government, 
should  have  no  taint  of  sordid  trade.  Where  waves 
the  banner  of  the  screaming  eagle  must  be  a  hal- 
lowed spot,  untainted  by  the  dollar-mark." 

"I  know  all  that,  but — "  Burmah  began. 


THE  BOOMERS.  219 

And  again  the  Colonel  silenced  him, 

"There  are  places,  like  shrines,  that  should  be 
immune  from  the  encroachments  of  trade.  Any 
gentleman  can  make  money,  dead-oodles  of  it,  Sir; 
but  it's  the  hall-mark  of  the  gentleman  when  he  can 
hold  back,  and  separate  his  instincts  of  acquisition 
from  encroachment  on  his  instincts  as  a  citizen. 
Burmah,  you  are  mistaken,  and  I  grieve  over  it." 

But  Burmah  had  come,  in  his  new  determination, 
prepared  to  fight  some  reason  into  the  Colonel's  mind. 

"Have  the  contracts  been  given  out  yet.?"  he 
asked,  unabashed. 

"They  have,"  said  the  Colonel,  "and  in  order  to 
induce  the  contractors  to  haste  in  completing  the 
structure,  I  agreed  to  give  them  a  ten  per  cent, 
bonus  for  time." 

"Then  that  is  settled,"  exclaimed  Burmah,  with  a 
note  of  regret.  "Now  for  the  next  thing:  If  Port 
Hatch  has  to  have  a  park,  why  don't  you  let  Port 
Hatch  pay  for  it?" 

The  Colonel  suddenly  arose  to  his  full  and  com- 
manding height,  and  it  was  evident  to  Burmah  that 
he  was  struggling  with  temper. 

"Burmah! — Mr.  Jones,"  he  said,  with  cutting 
emphasis,  "I  am  Port  Hatch!"  He  tapped  his 
breast  in  emphasis,  and  Burmah,  after  staring  at 
him  for  a  moment,  threw  up  both  hands  with  an  air 
of  resignation. 

"Colonel,"  he  said,  quietly,  "I'm  goin'  to  say  it  to 
you — goin'  to  say  something,  because  you're  dead 
sure  to  get  the  worst  of  a  bad  deal  in  the  long  run, 
unless  you  pull  up.  I  wouldn't  have  talked  to  you 
this  way  a  month  ago.  I  wouldn't  do  it  now,  only 
someone's  got  to,  and  you  believe  in  me." 


220  THE  BOOMERS. 

"As  I  do  in  my  own  life!"  interjected  the  Colonel, 
reseating  himself  and  relaxing. 

"You've  had  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  in  cash  out  of  Port  Hatch  already," 
Burmah  went  on,  in  the  same  steady  voice.  "I've 
had  nearly  as  much.  I've  kept  mine,  almost  every 
cent  of  it!  What  have  you  got?  Almost  nothin', 
save  what  I  paid  you  yesterday." 

"Almost  nothing?"  roared  the  Colonel,  again 
exhibiting  signs  of  restlessness.  "Why,  I'Ve  got 
the  finest  residence  in  the  State,  in  the  United  States, 
in  the  world,  so  far  as  artistic  beauty  is  concerned. 
What  have  I  got?  I've  got  a  school-house  started, 
a  club  named  after  me,  a  public  wharf,  pavements, 
and  a  city  park.  What  in  hell  more  could  a  man 
want,  Sir?" 

"That's  all  right,'*  calmly  replied  Burmah  to  the 
explosion,  "but.  Colonel,  parks  and  clubs,  and  school- 
houses  and  city  halls,  and  pavements  and  wharves, 
ain't  goin'  to  feed  Miss  Arabella  after  you're  dead 
and  gone,  and  they  ain't  goin'  to  keep  Marquard 
Villa  repaired  and  cared  for.  You've  got  somebody 
besides  Port  Hatch  to  think  about.  Colonel,  if  you 
won't  do  it  for  anyone  else,  hang  on  to  some  of  it 
for  her.  Hang  on  to  some  of  it,  to  please  me.  You 
know  you  owe  it  to  me,  some  of  it,  for  helpin'  you 
get  hold  of  it,  and  makin'  it  a  go — under  your 
advice."  He  added  the  last  as  an  afterthought, 
playing  by  habit  on  that  chord  of  vanity. 

The  Colonel  melted  somewhat',  and  laid  a  hand  on 
Burmah's  knee,  a  thing  that  he  had  never  done  be- 
fore save  under  extreme  stress,  and  Burmah  recog- 
nized the  conciliatory  significance  of  it,  and  grew 
hopeful. 


THE  BOOMERS.  221 

"There  are  three  things,"  said  the  Colonel  softly, 
"for  whom  and  which  I  would  do  anything  in  the 
world — or  make  any  sacrifice.  The  first  is  my 
daughter,  whom  I  love  as  few  men  have  loved  their 
offspring.  The  second  and  third,  equal  in  my 
affection,  are  Port  Hatch,  God  bless  Her!  and  you, 
Burmah  Jones !  Don't  you  see,  that  I've  got  land 
left,  hundreds  of  acres  of  it,  stretching  off  up  there 
like  a  glorious  carpet  laid  at  the  mountain's  feet, 
and  every  foot  of  which  is  going  to  be  valuable  when 
the  railway  comes,  and  Port  Hatch  has  become  a 
magnificent  city  of  tens  of  thousands  where  now  she 
has  but  hundreds?" 

"But — but — ,"  almost  whispered  Burmah,  "sup- 
pose the  railway  don't  come?" 

The  Colonel  ran  a  troubled  hand  over  his  brow, 
which  appeared  white  and  ascetic  in  the  moonlight. 

"It's  got  to  come !"  he  declared,  hoarsely. 

"But,  Colonel,  suppose  it  don't!  There's  nothin' 
in  the  world  dead  sure  until  it's  happened." 

"You  told  me—" 

"Never  mind  what  I  told  you,"  insisted  Burmah. 
"I'm  just  like  anybody  else.  Sometimes  I  make 
mistakes.  I've  made  a  lot  of  'em.  Colonel,  I  wish 
you'd  hang  on  to  what  you  have  and  what  comes  in, 
until  the  railroad  does  come.  After  that,  if  it  does, 
you'll  have  enough  to  build  a  marble  opera-house 
and  not  feel  it." 

He  had  made  his  first  tactical  blunder,  and  knew 
it ;  but  it  was  too  late. 

"By  Jingoes !"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  enthuiastic- 
ally,  "I  never  thought  of  that !  A  marble  opera- 
house.  Burmah,  you're  the  most  wonderful  assist- 
wai  a  man  in  finance  ever  had.     Your  hand,  Sir! 


222  THE  BOOMERS. 

I'm  mighty  grateful  to  you  for  that  suggestion. 
I'll  ask  Hubbard  to  begin  the  plans  right  away 
to-morrow." 

Burmah  made  one  more  attempt  to  check  the 
splendid,  unselfish  old  spendthrift  in  his  dreams,  and 
turned  toward  him,  and  stared  an  appeal  into  his 
eyes. 

"But,  Colonel,  won't  you  promise  this,  for  what 
I've  tried  to  do:  that  you  won't  build  the  opera- 
house  until  after  the  first  engine  whistles  its  way 
into  Port  Hatch?" 

The  Colonel  deliberated  for  a  long  time,  and 
Burmah  feared  that  he  was  going  to  refuse.  Then, 
as  if  he  had  weighed  the  subject  impartially,  the 
Colonel  said: 

"Yes,  I'll  promise  it  to  you;  but  I'll  be  hanged 
if  I'd  promise  as  big  a  sacrifice  as  that  to  any  other 
man  on  earth!" 

Burmah  stood  up  wearily,  and  looked  out  over 
the  terrace,  convinced  that  the  time  was  inoppor- 
tune to  demand  more.  The  Colonel  had  stated  a 
truth,  in  one  respect,  that  he  had  abundant  acreage 
remaining  if  ever  the  railway  came.  For  once  in  his 
life  Burmah  was  unselfish;  for  none  of  this  land 
beyond  was  subdivided,  and  therefore  he  could 
expect  nothing  from  its  revenues.  He  was  sick  at 
heart  from  fear  that  the  Colonel  could  not  be  re- 
strained, and  that  the  inevitable  crash  and  collapse 
would  find  him  penniless  and  unprepared.  He 
looked  uncertainly  around  him,  and  then  caught 
at  another  idea.  He  would  bring  all  the  influence 
he  could  bear  to  keep  the  Colonel  from  squandering 
anything  further.  He  would  appeal  to  Arabella, 
and  he  would  enlist  the  boys  from  Chattanooga.  He 


THE  BOOMERS.  223 

would  brow-beat  Hubbard  into  sensible  acceptance 
of  deferring  everything,  and  would  himself  con- 
stantly warn  the  Colonel  in  every  possible  way. 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "that  I  ought  to  talk  to  Miss 
Arabella  for  a  while,  so  you'll  excuse  me,  won't  you, 
Colonel?" 

And  the  Colonel,  nothing  loath  to  solitude  for  the 
important  business  of  thinking  over  a  marble  opera- 
house,  was  quite  agreeable. 

Burmah  wandered  into  the  house  and  out  upon  the 
lawn,  where  he  heard,  faintly,  the  broken  words  and 
sentences  of  an  animated  conversation,  and  this  he 
traced  to  a  new  summer-house,  built  with  crude  log 
supports  and  rustic  seats.  Hubbard,  having  joined 
the  quartet,  was  there  paying  court  to  Arabella, 
and  was  expatiating  on  the  value  of  classical  designs 
as  compared  with  modern  atrocities.  His  long  hair 
was  tossed  back,  his  poetic  eyes  were  glowing  like 
coals,  and  his  white,  graceful  hands  were  gesturing 
rapidly  to  emphasize  his  arguments.  All  the 
others,  duly  impressed,  gazed  at  him,  spell-bound, 
as  he  volleyed  sentences  at  them  on  his  theory  of 
beautification.  He  checked  himself  as  he  saw  the 
square  shape  of  the  Kansan  in  the  entrance,  and  the 
latter  seized  the  opportunity  to  turn  the  conversa- 
tion by  politely  asking  Arabella  if  the  three  weeks 
were  up  yet. 

"Almost,"  she  declared ;  "but  perhaps  I  shall  have 
to  extend  the  time." 

"That's  something  that  needs  talkin'  over,"  said 
Burmah,  mockingly.  "And,  as  the  time's  so  short, 
I  think  I'd  like  to  have  you  walk  around  this  whole 
lawn,  once,  with  me,  where  we  won't  be  bothered  by 
any  of  these  old  gentlemen." 


224  THE  BOOMERS. 

Beneath  all  his  bantering  and  assumption  of 
gaiety,  she  knew,  intuitively,  that  some  serious 
purpose  was  in  him,  and  that  he  wished  to  talk  with 
her  alone. 

"All  right!  I  accept,"  she  retorted,  and  hastened 
over  to  take  his  arm.  "Now  mind  you,  all  of  you," 
she  commanded,  turning  to  her  admirers,  who  stared 
at  her  according  to  individual  moods,  "no  one  of  you 
is  invited.    You  must  all  wait  here  until  I  come  back." 

Burmah  walked  with  no  uncertain  step  along  a 
path  that  led  to  a  stone  seat  near  the  edge  of  the 
cliff,  and,  as  he  went,  he  passed  nothing  but  com- 
ments on  the  improvements  that  had  been  made  in 
the  grounds.  Reaching  the  bench,  he  beckoned  her 
to  a  seat,  and  she  saw  that  his  face  was  grave  and 
thoughtful. 

"Miss  Arabella,"  he  said,  bluntly,  "what  I  want 
to  talk  about  is  your  father.  Somebody  ought  to 
try  and  keep  him  from  blowin'  in  every  copper  that 
he  gets  as  fast  as  he  gets  it.  Do  you  know  what 
he's  goin'  to  do  now.?  Build  a  City  Hall!  Lord 
Almighty !  If  this  keeps  up  he'd  better  begin  to 
build  a  nice  poor-house,  so's  he'll  have  some  place  to 
fall  into  when  this  boom's  busted.  I  want  you  to 
help  me." 

She  looked  up  at  him  with  a  troubled  face,  which 
portrayed  perplexity  also. 

"Why,  hasn't  he  lots  of  money?"  she  asked.  "I 
thought,  from  what  he  says,  that  he  must  be  worth 
a  million." 

"No,  he  ain't  got  lots  of  money,  and  he  ain't  worth 
no  million!"  savagely  replied  Burmah.  "He's  had 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cash,  and  I've 
got  no  idea  how  much  of  it's  left;  but  I  guess  that, 


THE  BOOMERS.  225 

if  he  paid  the  things  he's  contracted  for,  he'd  have 
less  than  twenty-five  thousand.  Just  think  of  it! 
Only  twenty-five  thousand  out  of  a  hundred  and  fifty, 
in  three  or  four  months." 

He  walked  backward  and  forward  in  front  of  her, 
his  fat  hands,  on  one  of  which  was  displayed  the 
diamond  of  vulgar  size,  gesturing  now  and  then, 
and  the  diamond  flashed  in  the  moonlight  as  if 
punctuating  his  sentence. 

"Look  what  he's  done  with  it  all,"  he  exclaimed, 
contemptuously.  "The  only  dollar  that  he  has  spent 
on  himself  is  for  Marquard  Villa.  He  ain't  even 
bought  a  new  pair  of  shoes  since  he  came  here.  All 
he's  done,  with  all  he  got,  was  to  give  free  pave- 
ments and  free  buildings  to  Port  Hatch.  The  land 
he  gave  for  the  Park  would  be  worth  hundreds  of 
thousands  if  a  railway  ever  did  come  here,  and  on 
top  of  that  he  goes  to  work,  and  turns  Hubbard 
loose  to  fix  it  up.  Zoological  Gardens — bah! — 
fountains — artificial  lakes — all  rubbish!  He  must 
be  stopped;  and  he's  so  devilish  crusty  that  we've 
all  got  to  take  a  hand  in  tryin'  to  discourage  him 
every  time  he  gets  a  new  fool  idea.     It  ain't  as  if 

he  was  young Somehow  or  another, 

I've  got  so,  lately,  that  I'm  afraid  of  the  years !" 

He  stopped,  and  looked  out  upon  the  mountains 
for  a  while  before  continuing,  as  if  to  himself  and 
forgetful  of  her  presence;  a  pudgy,  impolite 
philosopher,  with  his  back  turned  toward  his  com- 
panion. 

"It's  time  that  always  beats  us.  Just  that! 
Time !  There's  a  man-child  born  at  every  tick  of  the 
clock.  We  ain't  no  good  before  we're  twenty-one, 
and  we  croak  at  sixty.     When  you  come  to  figure 


226  THE  BOOMERS. 

out  all  the  time  that  we're  asleep  and  drunk,  we 
don't  live  very  long,  nohow !" 

Arabella's  voice  recalled  him. 

"I  didn't  hear  you,  Burmah,"  she  said;  and  he 
felt  a  glow  at  her  unconscious  use  of  his  name. 

"What  I  mean  by  all  this,"  he  said,  wheeling  so 
that  he  faced  her,  "is  that  something's  got  to  be 
done  to  curb  the  Colonel,  and  I  want  you  to  help 
me." 

Her  shapely  eyebrows  were  drawn  into  a  frown, 
and  her  face  was  a  picture  of  distress  as  she  met 
his  eyes. 

"But  what  can  I  do.^  You  know  how  father  is! 
No  one  can  influence  him." 

"You  can  do  this,"  he  asserted.  "You  can  listen 
to  his  plans.  You  can  argue  against  them — not  so 
he'll  notice  it,  but  just  to  find  ways  of  makin'  him 
change  his  mind.  You  must  never  let  him  think 
you  don't  believe  his  new  hobby-horse  the  finest  that 
ever  was  rode ;  but  always  suggest  that  maybe  there's 
another  that's  got  prettier  paint  on  it.  You  must 
always  appear  to  agree,  and  inside  of  your  head 
know  that  you  don't  agree.  You  must  always  smile, 
and  pat  his  cheek,  the  way  I've  seen  you  pat  it, 
even  if  your  heart's  sick  over  some  new-fangled  way 
of  throwin'  away  the  bank-roll.  And  you  can  do 
more  than  all  that.  You  can  tell  me,  always,  when 
he's  gat  a  new  hobby-horse  in  mind,  and  I'll  do  my 
darndest  to  see  that  it's  taken  out  of  the  shop  window 
before  he  can  get  around  to  buy  it,  or  that  it  comes 
to  him  with  a  broken  leg." 

She  got  up  impulsively,  and  came  to  him.  She 
put  both  white  hands  on  his  arms,  and  looked  him 
full  in  the  face,  with  the  trustful  aifection  of  a  sister 


THE  BOOMERS.  227 

for  a  big  and  strong  brother,  and  he  sustained  a 
pang  of  sorrow  because  he  had  been  compelled  to 
bring  even  this  worthy  distress  upon  her. 

"You  are  so  good!"  she  whispered.  "You  talk 
differently  than  the  men  I  have  known;  but  there's 
something  in  the  way  you  say  things  that  makes 
anyone  know,  without  thinking,  that  you  are  honest 
and  wise." 

Beneath  the  confidence  of  her  touch,  and  the 
trust  and  admiration  in  her  voice,  he  shuddered  as 
the  lash  bit  deeply.  But  his  eyes  did  not  lower 
themselves,  and  he  appeared  the  same  immobile,  un- 
emotional, stocky,  fat  man,  grotesque  in  his  vulgarity 
of  dress,  masterful  in  the  dominant  features  of  his 
face  and  head. 

"Then  you'll  do  it.?"  he  insisted,  never  varying 
from  the  point  that  he  sought  to  attain. 

"Yes,  I  will,"  she  promised  with  outspoken  candor 
and  no  reservation.  "And  I'll  do  it  without  feeling 
that  I  am  a  spy  on  my  own  father,  because  I  know, 
now,  that  it  is  for  his  good." 

"Then,"  he  said,  masking  his  gratitude  under  the 
guise  of  raillery,  "my  time  of  suspense  has  been  ex- 
tended another  three  weeks,  and  I  can  take  you  back 
to  where  Hubbard  is  probably  spoutin'  about  the 
high-art  way  of  how  to  build  parrot-cages." 

He  made  a  flourish  with  his  hat,  and  offered  his 
arm,  and  talked  lightly  of  trivial  things,  as  he  led 
her  back  to  the  arbor,  at  the  entrance  of  which  he 
bade  her  good-night.  He  waved  his  hand  to  the 
young  men  who  waited,  and  pretended  to  whistle 
gaily  as  he  passed  out  through  the  gates;  but,  im- 
mediately after,  he  sobered,  and  walked  along  the 
road  a  worried,  tired,  conscience-smitten  old  man. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   DREAMER   IS   EXTRAVAGANT. 

On  the  morning  after  the  conspiracy  against 
expenditure  had  been  hatched  by  Burmah  Jones, 
the  Colonel,  in  his  pajamas  and  with  ruffled  hair, 
got  up  and  stalked  to  the  window,  and  prepared  to 
enjoy  the  dawn.  The  early  twittering  of  the  birds 
and  the  splendor  of  daybreak  had  always  appealed 
to  him;  but  here,  in  the  midst  of  beauty,  where  the 
rugged  Olympics  shattered  the  sky-line,  the  forests 
on  their  flanks  marched  like  an  army,  and  the  waters 
of  the  sound  palpitated  in  expectancy,  the  Colonel 
was  in  his  element.  Carnations,  massed  beneath  his 
window,  filled  the  somnolent  air  with  fragrance. 
Roses  beyond,  now  mere  clumps  and  patches  of  dark 
foliage,  would,  as  the  sun  arose,  become  jewels 
of  red,  blazing  like  imperial  rubies  toward  his 
window.  White  roses  would  be  picked  out  as 
they  stared  in  purity,  and  pink  ones  would  dis- 
play shy  modesty.  Mount  Rainier  in  the  dis- 
tance would  remind  him  of  austere  heights  to  which 
gentlemen  might  climb,  and  the  window  from  which 
he  leaned  would  become  a  palace  casement,  whence 
he,  a  gentlemanly  king  and  a  financial  genius,  might 
look  out  over  his  domain  with  its  slumbering  sub- 
jects. He  had  dreamed  of  a  marble  opera-house 
that  outshone  the  great  edifice  in  Paris,  a  house 
he  knew  only  in  picture.  He  had  enjoyed  the 
dream  to  the  full;  for  he  had  made  a  speech,  and 
he  tried,  sleepily,  there  in  the  dawn,  to  think  of 

228 


THE  BOOMERS.  229 

some  of  those  wonderful  phrases  he  had  coined 
when  standing  behind  the  footlights.  A  half-fledged 
caterpillar,  making  its  laborious  way  along  the 
window  ledge,  interested  him,  and  he  very  gently 
decoyed  it  to  a  piece  of  paper,  and  carried  it  down 
to  the  lawn,  and  liberated  it,  heedless  of  the  fact 
that  his  feet  were  bare,  and  the  new  turf  covered 
with  dew.  A  newspaper  on  the  stand  in  the  hall 
caught  his  eye,  and  he  smiled  as  he  remembered  that 
by  the  advent  of  Burmah  he  had  been  prevented 
from  reading  it  on  the  preceding  evening.  He  car- 
ried it  up  the  stairs  with  him,  and  in  the  red  light 
from  the  eastern  sky  found  his  glasses,  and  glanced 
over  it  idly,  pausing  now  and  then  to  lift  his  eyes 
and  watch  for  some  new  display  of  color  in  the 
heavens.  Something  in  the  advertising  columns 
caught  his  vagrant  glance,  and  he  suddenly  went 
out  on  the  balcony  where  the  light  was  stronger,  and 
with  bated  breath  read  the  article  through.  His 
lips  were  open,  and  his  whole  attitude  portrayed  the 
most  intense  interest.  The  old  clock  from  his  an- 
cestral home  in  Tennessee,  now  pioneering  with  the 
Hatch  family  in  the  North-west,  and  standing  watch- 
fully at  the  foot  of  the  Hatch  stairs,  struck  age- 
mellowed  chimes,  and  the  Colonel  lifted  his  head, 
and  counted  straight  through  until  the  total  of  five 
was  reached. 

"Five  o'clock,"  he  muttered,  "and  the  early  boat 
for  Seattle  sails  at  six-thirty.  I  can  surely  make 
it.  This  is  a  grand  opportunity,  not  to  be  wasted. 
I  must  hurry." 

He  skipped  excitedly  around  the  room,  dragged 
his  trousers  on  wrong  side  foremost,  and  delivered 


230  THE  BOOMERS. 

objurgations,  lost  a  cuff-button  from  his  shirt,  and 
had  difficulty  in  knotting  his  old-fashioned  scarf. 
He  tied  the  laces  of  his  shoes  in  hasty  hard  knots  to 
save  time,  and  forgot  to  wash  his  face,  or  comb  his 
hair.  Benjamin  Franklin  had  said  that  the  way 
to  success  was  to  take  time  by  the  forelock,  as  the 
Colonel  remembered  it,  so,  metaphorically,  he 
grabbed  Father  Time  by  the  whiskers,  scythe  and 
lantern,  to  make  sure.  Like  Father  Time,  the 
Colonel  was  proud  of  his  ability  to  makle  haste 
where  business  was  concerned.  He  hurried  down- 
stairs, and  wrote  a  note  to  Arabella,  which  read: 

"Have  been  compelled  to  go  to  the  city  on  ex- 
tremely important  business,  by  the  early  boat. 
Shall  probably  not  return  home  for  two  or  three 
days.  But  when  I  do  come  will  have  a  surprise  for 
you,  my  dear  little  girl,  that  will  make  you  happy. 
A  thousand  kisses  from  your  devoted  old  Daddy." 

He  slipped  into  the  breakfast-room,  and  put  his 
note  in  a  conspicuous  place,  and  then  tore  madly 
out  of  the  house  and  down  the  road  toward  the 
wharf  and  the  steamer.  Now  and  then,  an  early 
workman  saluted  him,  and  he  always  found  time  to 
lift  his  hat,  and  wish  each  a  pleasant  day.  Now 
and  then,  other  early  risers  stared  out  of  win- 
dows at  his  lank  and  hurrying  figure,  and  always 
they  smiled  at  this  Colonel  of  Hearts.  The  captain 
of  the  steamer  saluted  him,  and  shouted  a  good- 
morning  from  the  bridge,  and  the  stewards,  mindful 
of  his  liberal  tips,  hastened  to  his  service.  The  few 
passengers  who  made  regular  trips  to  Seattle  were 
all  eager  to  have  a  few  words  with  him,  and  the 
world  went  very  happily.     He  stood  alone  as  the 


THE  BOOMERS.  231 

boat  pulled  out,  and,  when  it  came  abreast  of  his 
home,  perched  like  an  eagle's  nest  high  above,  he 
threw  his  hands  wide,  and  blew  a  kiss  in  the  direction 
of  it,  and  murmured,  "Good-by,  Arabella!  Sleep 
well,  little  sweetheart!" 

He  burst  into  song,  having  repeated  reference  to 
one  part  of  his  ditty — that  which  went,  "Daddy's 
gone  a-hunting  to  get  a  rabbit  skin." 

But,  when  the  boat  arrived  at  Seattle,  the  Colonel 
might  have  been  accused  of  having  misinformed  his 
daughter;  for  he  pulled  out  his  watch,  and  hastened 
up  the  street  toward  the  railway  station,  where  he 
walked  inside,  and  bought  a  ticket  for  Centralia,  a 
near-by  County  seat. 

At  two  o'clock  of  the  sunny  afternoon,  there  was 
a  strange  sight  in  that  fine  little  city.  Small  boys 
and  farmers  had  been  congregating  for  some  time 
preceding,  and  a  heterogeneous  crowd  wound  its 
way  toward  the  edge  of  the  town.  There  were  lum- 
ber-jacks enjoying  the  dull  season,  all  the  chronic 
loafers,  four  or  five  sporty,  but  glum-looking,  gen- 
tlemen with  loud  clothes,  and  an  equally  somber 
collection  of  men  and  women,  whose  movements, 
beneath  ill-fitting  clothes,  displayed  a  certain  light- 
ness and  excellent  muscular  development.  The 
sporty  gentlemen  were  those  who  had  owned  "Buz- 
zard's Biggest  Menagerie  and  Most  Colossal  Cir- 
cus," until  the  Sheriff  had  stopped  its  progress,  and 
the  group  of  well-muscled  ladies  and  gentlemen  were 
unpaid  performers,  who  hoped  the  Sheriff  would 
sell  for  enough  at  least  to  pay  them  their  back 
wages.  The  small  boys  went  to  get  a  free  look  at 
the  animals  that  were  to  be  sold  under  the  hammer, 


252  THE  BOOMERS. 

the  lumber- j  acks  in  the  hope  that  there  might  be  a 
chance  for  a  free-for-all  fight,  and  the  others  were 
merely  going  to  see  the  fun.  There  were  almost  as 
many  persons  in  attendance  as  on  that  day  when 
"Buzzard's  Biggest"  came  to  the  town,  and  spread 
its  frayed,  patched,  and  discolored  canvas  to  the 
clean  Washington  air,  and  polluted  the  place  with 
multi-odors.  On  that  glad  day  there  had  been  a 
shimmering  of  imitation  silk;  gallant,  but  unkempt, 
knights  in  tin  uniforms  had  ridden  travel-worn  and 
dejected  horses  through  the  streets,  and  the  "Hun- 
dred-Thousand-Dollar Beauty,"  her  face  stiff  with 
powder  and  paint,  had  stared  haughtily  at  the  crowd 
from,  "the  most  gorgeous  chariot  in  the  world,  out- 
rivaling the  Oriental  masterpiece  of  Cleopatra," 
and  beside  her  had  stood  a  proud  Marc  Antony^ 
who,  in  private  life,  was  named  Abraham  Abramsky^ 
and  had  the  concession  for  lemonade  with  the  big 
show.  But  alas !  So  fleetly  had  time  traveled,  all 
these  were  gone  to  other  fields,  save  those  acrobats 
with  families,  who  could  not  depart  until  funds  were 
secured  through  the  Sheriff. 

The  Sheriff  was  a  blase  individual,  who  wore  a 
soft  hat  suggesting  an  acquaintance  at  some  time 
in  his  career  with  wandering  steers  over  a  very 
broad,  unfenced  range.  With  him  were  two  or 
three  other  men,  who  calmly  eyed  the  lumber- jacks, 
and  the  circus  men,  and  whose  sack  coats  bulged 
over  belts,  tjiese  being  mere  deputies  brought  along 
to  preserve  order.  And  in  the  heart  of  this  pro- 
cession, smiling  with  the  keenest  enjoyment,  proudly 
intent  on  acquiring  a  zoological  collection,  fervid 
with  dreams   for  Port  Hatch,  walked  the   Colonel, 


THE  BOOMERS.  238 

with  head  erect  and  hands  in  his  pockets  lest  some 
one  should  remove  his  valuables. 

The  "big  top"  was  down,  and  had  lost  all  its 
glamour,  being  merely  a  huge  heap  of  dirty  canvas 
with  numerous  piles  of  battered  blue  lumber  around 
it,  the  latter  being  seats  that  had  supported  joyous 
multitudes  in  days  when  business  was  good,  and 
been  unfortunately  empty  as  the  show  toured  the 
West.  The  wagons  looked  as  if  they  needed  paint 
and  a  rest,  and  the  chariot,  once  the  proud  vehicle 
for  the  prize  beauty,  who  had  now  opened  a  man- 
icure parlor,  appeared  dingy  and  forlorn.  Only 
one  spread  of  canvas  was  there,  and  its  sides  were 
rolled  up  as  if  to  mock  those  glad  days  when  they 
were  down,  and  urchins  were  spanked  on  prominent 
portions  of  their  anatomy  as  they  attempted  to 
crawl  beneath.  Sheltered  from  the  sun  that  beat 
down  upon  it,  what  animals  were  left  of  Buzzard's 
grand  menagerie  slept  with  profound  gratitude  for 
the  peaceful  rest  that  had  so  unexpectedly  descended 
upon  their  imprisoned  lives. 

The  Sheriff  halted  the  crowd  outside,  as  best  he 
could;  but  the  small  boys,  the  ranchers  and  most 
of  the  lumber-jacks  passed  on  and  stared  at  the 
animals,  and  at  the  surly  keeper  who  lay  at  length 
on  the  ground  in  front,  scornfully  "sizing  up  the 
jays."  The  Colonel  was  among  those  that  waited 
outside,  while  the  Sheriff  mounted  a  pile  of  seats, 
and  read  his  notice  of  sale  in  a  humdrum  voice^  as 
if  eager  to  be  through  with  his  unusual  task. 

"The  first  articles  on  which  we  will  ask  bids,"  he 
said)  "are  the  tents  you  see  piled  there,  and  the 
seats  of  this  show.     Somebody  make  an  offer." 


234  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  showmen,  who  had  been  consulting  as  he  read 
the  notice,  opened  the  bidding,  and  had  such  small 
opposition  that  the  sale  was  almost  perfunctory. 
They  appeared  satisfied  at  the  lowness  of  the  price, 
and  grinned  and  chuckled,  and  glowered  at  the  acro- 
bats, who,  a  melancholy  group,  stood  on  one  side. 

The  horses  and  wagons  went  next,  and  again  the 
sporty-looking  gentlemen  had  it  much  their  own 
way,  and  the  bidding  lacked  spirit.  Then  the  Sheriff 
proposed  that  the  entire  contents  of  the  menagerie 
tent  be  sold  in  a  lump,  and  again  the  acrobats 
looked  mournful,  and  whispered  to  one  another,  as 
if  the  case  were  hopeless ;  but  they  were  interested 
when  the  tall  old  gentleman,  with  the  rose  in  his  lapel, 
stepped  forward,  and,  in  a  drawling  voice,  accosted 
the  officer. 

"Excuse  me.  Mister  Sheriff,"  he  said,  with  the  ut- 
most respect,  "but,  if  you  don't  mind,  I'd  sort  of  like 
to  look  at  the  animals  that  are  to  be  sold.  Can  you 
show  them  to  me.   Sir?" 

The  sporty-looking  gentlemen  acted  as  if  some 
one  had  applied  an  electric  shock  to  them,  as  they 
heard  this  request,  and  crowded  forward  with  loud 
expostulations. 

"Go  on  with  the  sale,"  their  leader  demanded  truc- 
lently,  and  the  Sheriff's  eye  gleamed  with  a  new  light. 

"Suppose  you  hold  your  yawp,"  he  retorted, 
shortly.      "Whose   runnin'  this   sale — you  or  me.?" 

The  group  of  acrobats  who  had  concluded  that 
they  were  to  be  robbed,  after  all,  by  their  former 
employers,  brightened  visibly,  and  came  closer,  pre- 
pared to  "rough  it"  in  behalf  of  the  Sheriff,  if  given 
the  slightest  possible  pretext. 


THE  BOOMERS.  235 

"This  rube's  had  thirty  days  to  look  at  animals, 
if  he  means  business,"  growled  the  spokesman  for 
the  would-be  buyers.  "What's  he  buttin'  in  here 
for,  anyhow?    Go  on  and  put  'em  up." 

The  Sheriff  still  smiled  pleasantly. 

"I  believe,"  he  remarked,  "that  I  said  I  didn't 
need  none  of  your  help."  He  turned  toward  the 
Colonel,  and  added,  "Certainly,  you  can  have  a 
look  at  'em,  if  you  want  to  bid.  The  animals  ain't 
in  no  hurry,  and  I  ain't,  either." 

The  sporty  man  elbowed  his  way  in  with  his  hat 
jammed  back  on  his  head,  and  in  so  doing  shoved 
the  Colonel  to  one  side ;  but  his  action  did  not  in  the 
least  escape  the  officer's  vigilant  eye. 

"Hey,  Jim,"  he  called  to  one  of  his  deputies. 
"Just  grab  this  smart  aleck  here,  and  take  him  up 
and  chuck  him  in  till  we  get  this  sale  over.  He's 
interferin'  with  an  officer  in  discharge  of  his  duty." 

The  man  called  Jim  collared  the  disturber  so 
quickly  that  the  latter  had  no  time  to  put  up  a  fight. 
Two  of  his  associates  shoved  themselves  forward, 
and  the  Sheriff  suddenly  attracted  their  attention 
in  a  very  decisive  manner. 

"Stop!"  he  shouted,  and  they  looked  up  at  him. 
A  big,  worn  Colt's  pistol  was  pointed  down  toward 
them.     They  decided  to  stand  still. 

"We  came  here  expectin'  somethin'  of  this  sort," 
said  the  Sheriff,  with  the  utmost  calmness,  "and  I 
want  to  warn  you  fellers  that  it  won't  go.  Either 
me  or  my  deputies  would  just  as  soon  pot-shot  a 
circus  man  as  we  would  anything  else.  First  come, 
first  served.  Glad  to  meet  you  gentlemen  on  any 
kind  of  a  basis.     Jim,  go  ahead  with  that  big  slob 


286  THE  BOOMERS. 

you've  got,  and  throw  him  in.  Bill,  you  go  along 
to  see  that  Jim  doesn't  have  to  kill  him  without  a 
witness  handy.  Now,  Mister,  if  you  want  to  have 
a  look  at  them   animals,   we'll   show   'em   to   you." 

The  acrobats  grinned  derisively  at  their  former 
boss,  as  he  was  led  sullenly  away;  his  companions 
in  the  bidding  syndicate  decided  that  discretion  was 
the  better  plan  to  pursue,  and  the  Sheriff  dropped 
down  from  his  stand,  and  led  the  way  for  the  Colo- 
nel, who  appeared  mildly  dazed  and  interested  in 
all  the  excitement,  though  thinking  of  but  one  fea- 
ture, the  menagerie. 

"I'm  takin'  it  for  granted  you  mean  business, 
Mister,"  the  Sheriff  said,  as  they  started  toward  the 
crowd  around  the  cages. 

"I  want  to  buy  some  animals,"  replied  the  Colo- 
nel, with  deep  fervor.  "I'm  going  to  give  them  to 
a  park.  My  name.  Sir,  is  Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax 
Hatch,"  he  concluded;  and  the  Sheriff  suddenly 
became  very  respectful. 

"Why,  you're  the  man  that's  makin'  that  new 
town  for  the  Railroad  Company,  ain't  you.?"  he 
asked,  and  the  Colonel  was  duly  flattered. 

"I  am.  Sir,"  he  replied,  with  a  display  of  pride. 

"Then  I'm  glad  you  came,"  grinned  the  Sheriff, 
"because,  you  see,  these  fellers  that  owned  this  cir- 
cus just  stalled  through,  and  thought  this  was  the 
cheapest  way  to  pay  their  debts — have  a  Sheriff's 
sale.  Bid  her  in  by  some  of  their  own  men,  and  let 
these  poor  devils  they  owed  get  about  one  cent  on 
the  dollar.  Sure,  you  can  see  the  beasts.  Come  on, 
Colonel  Hatch,  and  have  a  look  at  'em." 

The    acrobats,   who   had   kept   as    close   as   they 


THE  BOOMERS.  23T 

dared,  and  strained  their  ears  to  catch  all  this  con- 
versation, nodded  happily,  looked  relieved,  and  saw 
to  it  that  the  way  was  quite  clear  for  the  Colonel 
to  make  his  inspection.  A  dealer  in  animals  would 
have  been  satisfied,  and  contemptuous,  at  sight  of 
the  first  display;  but  the  Colonel,  who  had  never 
owned  a  menagerie,  was  as  delighted  as  any  small 
boy  that  ever  stood  before  gratings.  One  of  the 
acrobats,  who  professionally  was  a  strong  man, 
shoved  his  way  hastily  ahead,  and  whispered  to  the 
keeper  who  had  been  lounging  in  front  of  the  cages, 
and  the  latter,  hopeful  at  last  of  getting  his  full 
back  pay,  evinced  a  sudden  interest,  and  hurried 
down  behind  the  rope  to  meet  the  prospective  buyer 
when  he  halted  in  front  of  a  battered  cage  con- 
taining two  sleeping  lions. 

"Behold  the  kings  of  the  jungle!"  shouted  the 
keeper,  repeating  the  patter  that  he  had  been  taught 
for  the  entertainment  of  crowds  while  working  with 
other  small  menageries  at  Coney  Island  in  New 
York.     "The  two  finest  specimens  of  their  kind  in 

captivity Pompey !     Git  up,  and 

let  the  gentleman  cast  his  lamps  over  you!" 

He  prodded  the  nearest  sleeping  lion  with  a  short 
stick  he  carried,  and  succeeded  in  raising  a  grunt 
from  the  king  of  the  jungle.  Finding  that  this 
failed  to  arouse  the  tired  beast,  he  put  both  hands 
through  the  bars,  seized  the  king  by  his  mane,  and 
almost  hauled  him  to  his  feet.  The  cage  mate  also 
got  up  and  yawned,  and  the  Colonel  stared  with 
immense  admiration  at  two  of  the  most  moth-eaten 
lions  that  had  ever  ridden  on  top  of  wagons  through 
crowded   streets — ancient,   kindly,   toothless  beasts, 


238  THE  BOOMERS. 

which  had  come  to  regard  the  world  with  cynical 
laziness,  and,  being  born  in  captivity,  cared  for 
nothing  beyond  the  flavoring  of  the  grease-soaked 
poultices  that  were  fed  them  in  their  fine  old  cage. 
They  looked  reproachfully  at  their  keeper,  who  now 
stood  back,  and  waved  a  hand  at  them. 

"There  they  are.  Sir,"  he  croaked  in  his  hoarse, 
and  worn-out  "spieler's"  voice.  "The  finest  animals 
that's  ever  been  behind  a  cage.  Yes,  Sir,  them's 
two  noble  lions.     Males,  they  are." 

The  Colonel's  face  clouded. 

"It  seems  to  me  there'd  ought  to  be  a  lion  and  a 
lioness  always  together,"  he  said  sorrowfully.  "We 
want  specimens  for  our  Park,  and — " 

"Did  I  say  Males  .f^"  demanded  the  keeper  hastily. 
"Excuse  me.  Boss,  I  was  mistook,  or  you  didn't  get 
me.  That's  a  pair  of  mates.  Lord!  They  been 
together  since  they  was  caught  in  Africy.  Why, 
bless  you.  Sir!  That  there  female  didn't  need  to 
have  got  caught  at  all.  No,  Sir!  They  caught  the 
old  he-lion,  and  she  came  and  tried  to  help  him  get 
away.  The  man  what  caught  'em  cried  about  it 
when  he  told  me  how  it  happened." 

"Remarkable!  Remarkable  illustration  of  animal 
affection!"  said  the  Colonel,  admiringly.  "We 
must  have  them.  Indeed,  that  adds  very  much  to 
their  sentimental  value.  He  acted  as  if  struggling 
with  a  desire  to  compliment  the  lions  on  their 
loyalty;  but  inasmuch  as  poor,  tired  old  Pompey 
laid  himself  out  again  to  finish  his  nap,  was  diverted 
to  the  next  cage,  where  a  tiger  that  was  badly 
striped,  undersized,  and  had  been  crippled  in  a  rail- 
way accident,  went  limping  around  his  narrow  space. 


THE  BOOMERS.  239 

"Some  animal,  ain't  he?"  said  the  keeper.  "Royal 
king  of  the  jungles.  Man-eater  from  Darkest 
Africy.     The  peerless — " 

He  stopped  suddenly,  when  he  saw  that  the  Colo- 
nel was  frowning  at  the  animal's  painful  limp,  and 
dropped  the  long  line  of  empty  sentences. 

"That  foot's  all  right,"  he  said.  "All  it  needs  is 
some  liniment  and  a  rag;  but,  you  see.  Boss,  we 
ain't  had  time  to  do  nothin'  since  these  rubes  out 
here  stuck  us  up.     That's  some  tiger!     Believe  me!" 

He  hastily  diverted  the  Colonel's  attention  to  the 
next  cage,  where  a  half-dozen  monkeys  chattered 
joyously  in  the  hope  of  peanuts,  and  the  Colonel 
smiled  happily.  He  did  not  notice  the  long  rig- 
marole that  the  keeper  vented  on  the  virtues  and 
rarity  of  the  collection,  all  of  which,  needless  to 
say,  was  delighfully  untrue.  Next  came  a  cage  con- 
taining a  very  common,  ordinary  specimen  of  tim- 
ber wolf  on  one  side  of  a  partition,  while  on  the 
other  was  an  equally  common  coyote.  Another 
wagon  held  a  quite  homesick  hyena,  and  still  an- 
other held  the  only  specimen  in  the  whole  collection 
worth  looking  at,  a  fine  jaguar,  whose  lithe  muscles 
rippled  silkily  as  he  worked  restlessly  around  his 
cage.  A  poor  little  elephant,  old,  wise,  and  phil- 
osophic, put  out  a  friendly  trunk,  and  the  Colonel 
"shook  hands"  with  him,  and  warmed  to  him. 

"He's  just  naturally  askin'  you  to  take  him  home 
with  you,"  the  keeper  declared.  "He's  plumb  sick 
of  loafin'  around  this  burg,  same  as  me." 

Close  by  the  elephant  stood  a  placid  camel,  soft 
eyed  and  unconcerned,  and  possessed,  as  Harris 
Dickson  once  said,  of  "a  noble  smell."     They  had 


240  THE  BOOMERS. 

reached  the  end  of  the  display,  and  the  Colonel 
paused.  The  keeper  leaned  forward,  and  talked 
confidentially. 

"Say,  Boss,"  he  muttered,  '*the  big  feller  told  me 
you  wanted  'em  for  a  park.  Got  any  body  to  keep 
'em.?     If  you  ain't,  I'd  sort  of  like  the  job." 

"Thank  you,  Sir.  Thank  you!"  replied  the  Colo- 
nel. "I  hadn't  thought  about  that  part  of  it,  and 
you'd  be  just  the  man.  They  know  you,  and  that 
might  keep  them  from  feelin'  so  lonesome  in  Port 
Hatch." 

"Know  me?  Well,  I  guess  yes!"  answered  the 
keeper,  still  confidentially.  "Why,  I  reckon  some 
of  them  there  animules  would  die  if  they  know'd  I 
wasn't  goin'  with  'em.  Yes,  Sir,  just  turn  up  their 
toes,  and  kick  the  bucket.  They  ain't  no  man  in 
the  world  knows  more  about  menageries  than  I  do. 
Maybe  you've  hearn  tell  of  the  great  Zo-Zo,  King 
of  the  Beasts?     That's  me!" 

He  eyed  the  Colonel  keenly,  swelled  out  his  chest, 
and  assumed  a  pose. 

"Get  me.  Boss?"  he  asked.  "King  of  the  iBeasts 
— that's  me.  And  say,  if  youre  goin'  to  put  this 
royal  menagerie  into  a  park,  it'll  make  that  park 
second  only  to  the  Bronx  back  in  little  old  New 
York.  You  see,  you  can  pick  up  more  of  'em  now 
an'  then.  And  say.  Boss,  leave  it  to  me  to  condition 
'em.  I'm  great  at  it.  I  can  take  a  tiger  rug  off'n 
a  parlor  floor,  and  have  it  walkin'  around  a  cage 
and  roarin'  in  two  months.  Buy  'em  in.  Boss.  Buy 
'em  in !" 

The  Sheriff  interrupted  a  conversation  that  might 
have  lasted  all  the  afternoon,  by  saying: 


THE  BOOMERS.  241 

"Well,  Colonel,  that's  all  of  'em.  Shall  I  go 
ahead  with  the  sale  now?" 

The  Colonel  said  yes,  and  stepped  after  the  officer 
with  ah  air  of  unmistakeable  determination  ahd  fire 
in  his  eye.  The  crowd  opened  for  them  respectfully, 
for  it  had  been  passed  round  in  whispers  that  this 
was  the  millionaire  financier  who  was  building  the 
model  city,  which  had  been  so  extensively  advertised, 
and  the  Sheriff  again  took  his  stand  on  the  outside. 
The  sporty,  but  downcast  and  subdued,  circus  men 
had  been  holding  a  whispered  conference,  and  were 
plainly  angry.  They  had  expected  to  get  the 
menagerie  on  the  sahie  short  terms  that  had  char- 
acterized their  purchase  of  the  other  equipment ;  but 
surmised  that  this  "old  ignoramus,"  who  knew  noth- 
ing whatever  of  the  value  of  beasts  f.  o.  b.,  would 
probably  run  the  price  up  beyond  all  hope.  They 
opened  the  bidding  by  offering  five  hundred  dollars 
for  the  lot,  tent  included.  One  of  the  acrobats  whis- 
pered to  the  Colonel  and  tugged  at  his  sleeve. 

"Ask  the  fly  cop  to  knock  down  the  canvas  sep- 
arate," he  suggested,  and  the  Colonel  voiced  the 
request,  which  was  immediately  granted. 

The  circus  men  bought  the  canvas  at  a  bargain 
rate,  and  again  the  Sheriff  asked  for  bids  on  the 
/menagerie.  He  enumerated  in  a  sing-song  voice 
T^hat  was  to  be  sold.  "One  steam  calliope,  one  golden 
chariot  of  state  with  lots  of  silken  umbrellas,  orie 
royal  Bengal  tiger,"  and  so  on  through  the  list,  and 
then  turned  expectantly  toward  his  audience. 

"Five  hundred,"  growled  one  of  the  circus  men. 

"One  thousand;"  nervously  shouted  the   Colonel. 

"Ten  fifty,"  shouted  the  opposition. 


242  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Eleven,"  said  the  Colonel,  getting  warmer  under 
the  collar. 

"Eleven  twenty-five,"  came  the  quick  bid  from 
the  other  side,  and  the  Colonel  grew  suddenly  des- 
perate. 

"Four  thousand  dollars,"  he  shouted  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  glaring  at  the  check-suited  group. 

The  acrobats  grinned  with  delight,  and  one  of 
them  turned  a  hand-spring,  while  the  opposition 
bidders  shrugged  their  shoulders  and  swore. 

"Any  more  bids  over  there  .^^  Do  I  hear  any  more 
bids.?"  demanded  the  Sheriff,  staring  at  the  two 
circus  men;  but  they  stood  sullenly  quiet. 

"You  ain't  goin'  to  lay  down  your  hands,  are  you, 
you  fellers.'^"  demanded  the  Sheriff. 

"Lay  down  our  hands?"  shouted  the  one  who  had 
been  doing  the  bidding.  "Why,  nobody  but  a 
sucker'd  offer  that  for  that  bunch  of  junk!  Let  him 
have  'em!"  and  he  also  added  two  or  three  impolite 
words  consigning  the  animals  that  had  composed 
the  most  marvelous  collection  on  earth  to  a  hot  here- 
after. 

"Going  once !  Going  twice !  Third  and  last  call ! 
All  done?  Sold  to  Colonel  Hatch  for  four  thousand 
dollars!"  the  Sheriff  ended,  banging  a  tent  stake  on 
the  lumber  pile. 

The  Colonel  let  out  a  real  Rebel-yell  of  triumph 
that  sounded  far  across  the  heads  of  the  crowd,  and 
pulled  out  his  cheque-book.  He  gave  the  Sheriff  the 
slip  of  paper  while  the  admiring  crowd  watched  a 
man  who  could  so  easily  turn  over  such  a  sum,  and 
then  the  new  owner  hastened  back  to  view  his  col- 
lection. The  keeper  was  waiting  to  congratulate  him. 


THE  BOOMERS.  243 

"It's  a  bargain,  Boss !  It's  dead  cheap !"  he 
assured  him,  knowing  all  the  tim^e  that  he  lied. 
"Now,  about  that  job?" 

"Why,  we'll  start  to  ship  them  right  away,  this 
afternoon,"  said  the  Colonel,  anxious  to  hasten  back 
to  Port  Hatch. 

"But  the  wages.  Boss?  What  do  I  get?"  demanded 
the  cautious  keeper. 

The  Colonel  was  frankly  puzzled. 

"What  do  animal-keepers  usually  receive?"  he 
asked,  thus  further  exposing  his  innocence. 

"A  hundred  and  fifty  a  month's  what  most  of  'em 
gets,"  said  the  wily  keeper,  whose  largest  pay  had 
never  exceeded  "forty  and  found."  "But  you  see 
Hagenback's  been  wirin'  and  cablin'  to  me  to  come 
over  to  Hamburg  to  take  charge  of  his  animals,  and — " 

"I'll  make  it  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars," 
said  the  Colonel. 

The  keeper  appeared  to  hesitate;  but  was  afraid 
that  if  he  ventured  further  this  golden  goose  might 
be  strangled,  so  he  decided  to  close. 

"All  right.  Boss,"  he  said.  "That  ain't  as  much 
as  I  might  get  over  with  Haggy,  but  this  climate 
out  here  suits  me  fine.  That's  why  I'm  out  on  the 
Coast  now.     Yes,  Sir,  I'll  go  you." 

The  Sheriff,  who  had  approached,  had  a  sugges- 
tion to  offer. 

"The  flat  cars  some  of  these  came  in  on  is  down 
here  on  the  switch  yet,  Colonel,"  he  said,  "and  I 
saw  the  station-agent  outside  there,  just  now.  If 
you  want  'em  you'd  better  let  me  slip  over  and  give 
him  the  tip  before  these  scrubs  that  bought  the 
rest  of  the  shebang  beat  you  to  it." 


244  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  Colonel  thanked  him  profusely,  and  the 
Sheriff  hurried  away. 

"And  I  can  get  a  drayman  to  haul  the  cages 
aboard  for  you,"  said  his  new  keeper  with  a  desire 
to  show  his  efficiency.  "Then  we  can  get  'em  out 
and  into  Seattle  by  mornin',  if  that's  where  you 
want  to  go.  We  only  need  one  rattler  for  the 
elephant  and  camel." 

This  suggestion,  also,  was  received  thankfully  by 
t}\e  Gplpnel,  and  the  keeper  enlisted  one  of  the  g,cro- 
bats  to  assist  him  by  chasing  after  the  drayman. 
A  few  of  the  canvas  men  who  had  "stuck"  by  the 
^hqw  began  to  move  around  and  exort  the  loafers 
to  clear  away.  In  long  slips,  the  canvas  covering 
of  the  menagerie  came  down.  Men  shoved  the  cages 
outside,  where  the  keeper  began  clamping  on  the 
shutters,  and  finally  the  tent  itself  came  fluttering 
to  the  ground,  slowly,  under  short-handed  work. 
The  drayman  came,  and  had  difficulty  in  getting 
his  frightened  horses  up  to  their  task,  and  the  men 
the  Colonel  hired,  sweated,  and  cursed,  and  assisted 
the  entraining  of  "Buzzard's  Best  Menagerie"  as  it 
pulled  away  from  the  spot  where  it  had  stood  so 
long.  The  animals  restively  moved  about  in  their 
confinement,  and  vented  their  sorrows  to  their  kind. 
The  little  elephant  tested  the  gang-way  leading  up 
to  the  box-car  that  had  been  allotted  him,  and  the 
camplj  with  many  grunts,  followed  patiently  after. 
The  Colonel's  menagerie  was  ready  to  begin  its  last 
journey,  and  the  Colonel  himself,  tired,  but  happy, 
walked  back  and  forth  on  the  station  platform,  and 
proudly  stared  at  his  collection. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


AND    LANDS   A  MENAGERIE. 


The  Colonel  arrived  in  Seattle  late  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  and  was  vastly  disappointed  when 
he  learned  that  the  boat  for  Port  Hatch  had  sailed; 
for  his  impatience  to  land  his  collection  in  the  Port 
Hatch  Public  Park  and  Zoological  Garden  made  it 
difficult  to  brook  delay.  He  was  obliged,  however, 
tti  resign  himself  to  necessity,  and,  when  he  realized 
that  he  had  put  in  an  almost  sleepless  night,  and 
stood  sadly  in  need  of  a  nap,  he  went  to  his  hotel. 
He  partially  disrobed,  and,  with  a  sigh,  stretched 
himself  out  on  his  comfortable  bed;  in  a  minute  he 
was  peacefully  snoring,  dreaming  of  other  fields  to 
conquer.  Heavenly  strains  of  music  seemed  to  filter 
through  his  dreams,  and,  after  a  while,  he  turned 
restlessly,  before  sitting  erect  on  the  edge  of  the 
bed  to  listen.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  cause  of 
the  disturbance,  for  below  his  window  a  band  was 
gaily  tootling  away,  and  he  slipped  over  and  leaned 
out,  his  ruffied  white  hair  and  eyebrows,  his  collar- 
less  shirt,  and  his  suspenders  showing  themselves 
gaily  to  any  passer-by  who  might  chance  to  look 
upward  toward  the  third  story  of  the  caravansfery. 

Below  him,  at  the  curb's  edge,  a  little  German 
band  of  vagabond  musicians,  with  battered  horns 
find  squeaky  clarionets,  was  rending  the  air  in  an 
attempt  to  play  "WaldteiifePs  Waltz,"  an  old 
favorite  of  the  Colonel's,  to  which  he  had  danced 
a  sprightly  step  fifty  years  agone.     From  where  he 


246  THE  BOOMERS. 

looked  out,  he  could  see  nothing  but  the  bells  of 
dented  brass  instruments,  some  faded  red  caps  and 
shoulders  with  equally  faded  gilt  epaulettes.  No 
matter,  the  music  was  there.  The  Colonel  appeared  to 
be  the  only  one  who  found  it  tuneful,  for  the  throngs 
moving  along  the  pavements  below  did  not  pause  to 
pay  tribute  to  Waldteiifel.  Indeed,  some  of  the 
passers-by  clapped  their  hands  to  their  ears  as  if 
hearing  something  agonizing  in  this  praiseworthy 
attempt.  The  Colonel's  eyes  lost  their  drowsy  ex- 
pression, and  began  to  look  dreamy.  The  band, 
after  a  short  pause,  struck  up  "Maryland,  My 
Maryland,"  and  the  Colonel  wagged  time  with  his 
head,  and  hummed  an  accompaniment,  and  then, 
quite  suddenly,  he  stopped,  and  his  eyes  were  dis- 
tended, and  his  lips  parted. 

"By  Jimminy  Crickets !"  he  exclaimed  aloud. 
"Don't  see  why  I  never  thought  of  that!" 

And  straightway  he  got  back  into  the  room,  and 
began  hastily  to  don  his  collar  and  tie.  He  was 
afraid,  from  the  cessation  of  sound  from  without, 
that  the  band  had  escaped,  and  he  ran  to  the  win- 
dow to  look.  His  fears  were  justified,  for  the  little 
party  in  red  was  starting  up  St.  James'  Street  as 
if  completely  discouraged. 

"Hey!  Hey,  you!"  the  Colonel  shouted,  wildly; 
but  no  one  heard,  or,  if  any  did  hear,  no  one  heeded 
him. 

He  plunged  out  into  the  hall,  and  pressed  the  bell 
for  the  elevator  with  an  impatient  and  prolonged 
punch,  and  was  plainly  excited  when  the  car  halted 
in  front  of  his  floor. 

"Down,  Boy!     Down   quickly!"  the   Colonel   or- 


THE  BOOMERS.  247 

dered,  and,  on  the  instant  the  car  stopped  at  the 
main  floor,  he  plunged  out,  and  ran  into  the  street. 
The  Colonel  caught  sight  of  a  red  coat  vanishing 
into  a  lager-beer  saloon,  a  block  and  a  half  away, 
and  he  doggedly  hurried  in  that  direction.  Breath- 
less with  endeavor  and  excitement,  he  raced  into  the 
resort,  and  found  the  nine  musicians  thirstily  im- 
mersing their  noses  in  nine  foaming  steins  of  beer. 
A  lugubrious-appearing  individual,  who  seemed  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  bandsmen,  sighted  the  Colo- 
nel, and  punched  the  man  nearest  him,  who  promptly 
pulled  his  stein  a  short  distance  from  his  face,  and 
there  held  it  suspended,  while  foam  dripped  from  a 
Teutonic  mustache,  and  two  round  Teutonic  eyes 
stared  innocently  at  his  neighbor. 

"Dat's  de  old  guy  wot  bought  de  animules," 
hoarsely  muttered  the  lugubrious  man,  as  if  impart- 
ing precious  information.  The  bandsmen  said, 
"Jah.?  Ach,  Gott!"  and  chuckled. 

The  Colonel  advanced  toward  them,  and  asked, 
most  politely: 

"Which  one  of  you  gentlemen  is  the  leader  of  this 
band.?" 

"Dot  is  me!"  proudly  asserted  the  man  who  had 
been  first  apprised  of  the  Colonel's  identity.  "I  am 
der  Herr  Schmidt,  Kapellmeister,^* 

"Then  you  are  the  man  I  want  to  talk  with,"  the 
Colonel  asserted,  with  great  satisfaction;  and  the 
band  leader  promptly  told  his  companions,  in  Ger- 
man, to  wait,  and  led  the  way  to  a  beer-stained  table 
in  the  rear  of  the  room. 

"I  am  Colonel  Hatch,  from  the  City  of  Port 
Hatch,   Sir,"  said  the  Colonel,  with  great  gravity, 


248  THE  BOOMERS. 

"and  our  city,  the  finest  on  earth,  has  no  musical 
organization." 

"Ach!  What  a  shame!"  ejaculated  Herr  Schmidt, 
raising  his  hands  in  horror,  and  rolling  his  eyes 
toward  the  ceiling  as  if  asking  the  dingy  cobwebs 
above  how  such  a  thing  could  be. 

"I  want  to  know,  Sir,  if  you  could  be  induced  to 
bring  your  band  to  Port  Hatch,  and  remain  there 
permanently,"  the  Colonel  said,  with  admirable 
brevity. 

Herr  Schmidt  looked  at  him,  too  astonished  to 
blink.  At  various  times,  he  had  known  men  to  ask 
him  to  move  on,  but  this  was  the  first  time  he  could 
remember  that  anyone  had  ever  asked  him  to  stay. 
The  lugubrious  man  came  and  hovered  near  the 
table;  but  Herr  Schmidt  did  not  object. 

"Are  dere  any  saloons  in  dis  town.?"  he  asked, 
cautiously  investigating  the  disadvantages  of  a  res- 
idence in  Port  Hatch. 

"There  are  none  now,  Mister  Smith,"  replied  the 
Colonel,  and  then  hastily  added:  "But  we  hope  to 
have  some  before  long." 

"You  can  git  yer  booze  shipped  up,  you  big 
Dutch  chump,"  expostulated  the  lugubrious  man, 
poking  his  friend  in  the  ribs. 

"Port  Hatch  will  be  the  greatest  city  in  the  world 
inside  of  a  year  or  two,"  the  Colonel  said,  seriously, 
"and  it  will  have  an  opera-house  that  will  want  an 
orchestra,  and  it  will  want  an  orchestra  for  its 
dances,  and  it  now  needs  a  band  to  give  concerts 
in  its  Park,  and  it  will  support  a  worthy  director 
who  makes  his  band  a  good  one,  a  big  one,  one  that 
will  be  worthy  of  such  a  great  city." 


THE  BOOMERS.  249 

Herr  Schmidt,  paralyzed  by  his  own  good  for- 
tune, was  spieechless,  and  shut  his  eyes.  There 
flashed  through  his  mind  all  that  he  had  dreamed 
when  he  had  been  a  boy  emigrating  to  America;  all 
his  adversities,  all  his  failures,  all  his  slide  down- 
ward from  steady  positions  to  that  of  a  wandering 
mendicant.  The  old  chap  was  moist-eyed  when  he 
looked  at  the  Colonel,  and  pronounced  his  ulti- 
matum. 

"Und  ve  can  stay  by  dis  Port  Hetch?  Und  can 
a  big  band  haf?  All  ridt!  Ve  goes!"  His  words 
tumbled  over  one  another  in  his  anxiety. 

"Now,  about  the  finances.  Mister  Smith,"  said  the 
Colonel,  remembering  that  he  must  drive  a  bargain, 
because  Russell  Sage  had  declared  that  to  be  the 
beginning  of  all  things.  "Would  five  hundred  dol- 
lars a  month  be  enough  to  pay  for  it?" 

"Und  vat  we  can  on  de  outside  make?"  demanded 
the  German,  cautiously  thinking  of  his  followers. 

"Certainly,  Sir,  you  would  get  that,"  agreed  the 
Colonel.  "And,  as  the  band  grew,  you  would  get 
more.  Also,  we  will  build  a  club-house  for  your 
men  where  they  can   sleep." 

"Ve  goes !"  shouted  Herr  Schmidt,  rising  in  his 
exuberance,  and  waving  a  clarionet.  "Ve  goes,  und 
by  und  by  ve  vill  a  band  haf!  No  musegons,  aber 
ein  band  mit  musicians !  A  band  that  shall  grow 
ven  ve  gets  blaces  for  blumbers,  und  tinschmitts, 
und  tailors,  und  tinkers,  und — Ach !  Und  I  shall  de 
Herr  Director  be!" 

He  threatened  to  embrace  the  Colonel  and  the 
latter,  still  wondering  what  plumbers  and  tinsmiths 
and  tailors  had  to  do  with  making  a  band,  and  not 


250  THE  BOOMERS. 

knowing  that  the  little  German's  idea  of  creating 
a  small  city  band  was  most  feasible,  retreated. 

"Und  Herr  Colonel!  Ven  do  ve  out  go?"  de- 
manded Schmidt. 

"To-morrow  morning,  Sir,"  the  Colonel  answered, 
smiling  happily. 

The  "Herr  Director"  rushed  over  to  his  men,  and 
began  in  rapid  Bavarian  to  tell  them  of  their  good 
fortune,  and  they  gathered  around  him,  and 
shouted,  and  asked  excited  questions.  The  lugu- 
brious man  looked  deserted  and  forlorn;  but  rallied. 

"Say,  Boss,"  he  said,  crowding  over  toward  the 
Colonel,  "I'm  Slivers,  de  guy  that  spieled  the  cal- 
liope you  bought  with  that  other  junk.  Any  chance 
for  me.^  I've  got  all  the  hot  rags  and  a  lot  of  good 
stuff  like  "Sweet  Violets,"  and  "Silver  Threads," 
and — and  "Dixie,"  and — " 

The  Colonel  leaped  with  gladness,  and  thrust  out 
his  hand. 

"Fine!  Fine!"  he  shouted.  "Can  you  play  in 
the  band,  also.?  You  see,  we  want  a  calliope  some- 
times, but,  when  you  aren't  playing  there,  maybe 
you  could — " 

"Played  alto  horn  all  me  life,"  solemnly  asserted 
the  calliope-player.  "Um-tahtah !  Um-tahtah !  Um- 
tahtah!"  he  hummed  through  his  pursed  lips,  twist- 
ing his  mouth  until  it  looked  more  like  a  closed 
oyster-shell  than  anything  human.  "And  yuh  kin 
git  me  cheap !  Fifty  per,  and  me  sleeps  trown  in  in 
de  club-house !" 

"Excellent,"  said  the  Colonel.  "Most  excellent! 
You  can  come,  also !" 

He  might  have  said  more,  had  not  the  members 


THE  BOOMERS.  251 

of  the  band  swooped  down  on  him  to  thank  him,  all 
talking  at  once,  all  excited,  and  all  eager  to  hasten 
to  the  land  of  promise,  Port  Hatch.  He  almost 
fought  his  way  out,  good-naturedly,  before  he  was 
checked  by  Schmidt. 

"Herr  Colonel,"  he  said,  "I  must  talk!  Herr 
Colonel!     Vere  do  ve — ?^^ 

"Come  with  me,  Mister  Smith,"  said  the  Colonel, 
rather  embarrassed  by  the  members  of  the  band,  as 
he  dodged  out  to  the  pavement. 

The  band-master,  after  commanding  his  followers 
to  remain  behind  until  he  returned,  hastened  after 
the  Colonel,  and  talked  to  him  from  the  edge  of  the 
curb,  with  his  faded  red  cap  under  one  arm  and  the 
clarionet  under  the  other. 

"Ve  must  music  haf !  Und  music-racks !  Und 
vere  to  go  know." 

The  Colonel  looked  at  him  thoughtfully  and  it 
suddenly  dawned  on  him  that  the  uniforms  of  the 
men  were  not  entirely  satisfactory. 

"You  shall  buy  them  all.  Mister  Smith,  Sir,"  he 
pronounced,  after  a  moment's  thought,  and  then, 
with  a  grandiose  wave  of  his  hand  befitting  a  mag- 
nate, added;  "and  you  had  better  go  right  down  to 
some  place,  and  get  some  new  suits  of  clothes.  I 
like  gray  with  silver  braid  the  best.  Lots  of  braid, 
Mister  Smith.  And  maybe  you  can  get  a  few  more 
men,  if  you  need  them." 

Herr  Schmidt  staggered  against  a  lamp-post  for 
support,  and  rallied  bravely. 

"I  can  some  men  get  vat  var  mit  de  circus  oudt," 
he  exclaimed.     "Bud  de  money  .^" 

"Get    them.    Sir,"    said    the    Colonel,    suddenly 


252  THE  BOOMERS. 

plunging,  as  the  glor j  of  a  bigger  band  invaded 
his  mind.  "Get  them.  I  will  arrange  their  pay  in 
Port  Hatch.  Buy  them  uniforms  and  music.  Have 
them  down  at  Schwabacher's  wharf  by  nine  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning  to  go  aboard  the  boat.  Be  sure 
to  be  there.  Don't  fail.  And  here  is  some  money 
you  may  need  for  the  new  clothes." 

He  took  a  roll  of  bills  from  his  pocket,  enough  to 
buy  more  than  would  ever  be  required,  and  mag- 
nanimously pressed  it  into  the  hands  of  Herr 
Schmidt,  who  counted  the  sum  over  almost  auto- 
matically, and  promised  to  account  for  every  cent. 
It  was  well  for  the  Colonel  that  he  had,  unawares, 
stumbled  upon  an  honest  man,  for  the  little  Ba- 
varian was  that,  and,  moreover,  was  drunk  with 
opportunity  to  rehabilitate  himself.  He  stood  on 
the  street  with  his  hat  off,  in  a  reverential  attitude, 
until  the  Colonel  had  disappeared  from  sight,  before 
he  turned  toward  the  dingy  doors  of  the  saloon 
where  faces  stared  at  him  that  were  as  astonished 
as  his  own. 

The  Colonel  entertained  not  the  least  anxiety  for 
his  outlay,  or  as  to  whether  the  band  would  appear, 
and  fortunately  was  not  disappointed  when  he 
reached  the  dock  on  the  following  morning,  but  was 
saluted  from  the  steamer's  deck  by  "Hail  to  the 
Chief,"  a  surprise  carefully  arranged  by  Herr 
Schmidt.  The  Colonel  gasped  with  delight  when  he 
saw  the  rehabilitated  band,  and  was  also  amazed 
at  the  volumes  of  sound.  And  well  he  might  be;  for 
Herr  Schmidt,  given  a  free  hand,  had  gathered  at 
least  fifteen  more  musicians,  most  of  them  from  the 
defunct  "Buzzard's  Big  Show,"  and  had  rehearsed 


THE  BOOMERS.  253 

them  from  dawn  for  this  occasion.  Herr  Schmidt 
himself,  resplendent  in  a  field  marshall's  uniform, 
had  discarded  his  clarionet  for  the  baton,  and  waved 
energetic  and  pompous  German  time.  Also,  later, 
he  explained  that  it  would  cost  the  Colonel  an  addi- 
tional six  hundred  dollars  a  month  until  his  men 
could  get  "chobs"  at  whatever  they  could  find  to  do 
to  piece  put  their  incomes ;  but  there  was  something 
so  grateful,  so  joyous,  so  self-satisfied,  in  the  de- 
meanor of  the  little  band-master,  and  something  so 
resplendent,  so  noisy,  so  glorious  in  the  band,  that 
the  Colonel  regretted  only  that  Herr  Schmidt  had 
not  been  able  to  hire  more  than  four  and  twenty 
men. 

Down  on  the  main  deck,  the  camel  seemed  to  cling 
for  protection  closer  to  the  elephant,  and  the  famous 
Zo-Zo  was  heaving  chunks  of  raw  meat  at  the 
jaguar.  The  chariot  was  being  brought  aboard, 
and  Slivers,  "de  guy  wot  spieled,"  methodically  pol- 
ished up  the  long  brass  whistles  of  his  calliope.  He, 
too,  had  on  a  suit  of  cadet  gray  with  silver  braid 
in  profusion.  All  were  happy.  Every  one  was 
excited,  save  the  animals.  They  looked  out  with 
sorrowful  eyes  as  if  expecting  nothing  in  a  dreary 
existence  save  travel — endless,  aimless  travel. 

As  the  boat  pulled  out  and  started  toward  the 
city  of  destiny,  the  Colonel  devoted  his  time  to  the 
monkeys,  and  robbed  himself  of  peanuts  while  win- 
ning their  friendship.  From  the  deck  above  came 
the  sounds  of  Herr  Schmidt's  band  as  it  hammered 
and  banged  through  some  later  popular  marches, 
and  every  now  and  then  there  came  a  pause,  and 
tjie  Direptor's  voice,  in  guttural  German  oaths,  was 


254  THE  BOOMERS. 

heard  in  expostulations.  Herr  Schmidt,  at  least, 
took  his  new  band  seriously,  and,  to  the  surprise  of 
some  of  the  recruits,  proved  that,  when  he  chose 
to  be  serious,  he  was  a  most  competent  drill-master. 
Forgotten  music  returned  to  him,  and  with  it  a 
desire  to  show  his  efficiency.  He  really  had  his  own 
band,  at  last,  and  with  the  promise  of  a  future.  He 
must  get  it  whipped  into  some  sort  of  shape  before 
the  marvelous  city  of  Port  Hatch  was  reached.  Nor 
was  he  the  only  one  that  had  taken  a  new  start,  for, 
down  below,  Zo-Zo  was  anxiously  doing  his  best  to 
make  his  cages  look  presentable,  all  the  while  regret- 
ting that  he  had  not  had  time  to  touch  up  the 
chariot  before  this  strange  venture  into  a  new  life. 
Slivers,  after  having  spent  his  last  cent  among  the 
stokers,  now  furtively  stole  coal  for  his  boilers.  He 
had  no  doubt  that  there  would  at  once  be  a  parade. 
He  caught  the  Colonel  in  front  of  the  animals,  and 
voiced  his  conjecture. 

"Do  we  start  at  once.  Boss.?"  he  asked.  "How 
are  we  goin'  to  parade  to  the  Park  without  no 
bosses  ?" 

The  Colonel  looked  at  Slivers  for  a  half-minute 
in  a  daze,  and  was  then  fired  by  the  idea.  How  had 
he  ever  overlooked  that  important  feature!  He 
grew  nervous,  and  began  to  make  plans.  He  was 
sorry  that  he  had  not  bought  horses  to  haul  the 
cages.  Seven  teams  of  horses !  Maybe  he  could  get 
these  from  where  they  would  be  at  work  on  the  new 
wharf  grading,  and  surprise  Port  Hatch.  It  must 
be  done,  regardless  of  cost.  Until  Port  Hatch  was 
sighted,  he  was  apprehensive.  He  pranced  up  and 
down  as  the  boat  neared  the  far  from  crowded  docks. 


THE  BOOMERS.  255 

Three  teams  were  there  in  sight,  and  over  beyond 
were  four  moie.  He  leaped  off  before  the  gang- 
plank had  touched  the  wharf,  and  rushed  to  the 
drivers.  He  hustled  them  into  activity,  and  they, 
knowing  his  erratic  ways,  and  certain  of  reward, 
responded  with  alacrity.  The  crowd  began  to 
grow  on  the  wharf,  and  Zo-Zo  took  advantage  of 
this  circumstance,  and  ordered  men  to  help  him  pull 
out  his  cages.  There  followed  all  the  hurried,  but 
not  the  orderly,  excitement  of  the  arrival  of  a  circus. 
The  horses  were  hastily  unhooked  from  plow, 
scraper  and  wagon,  and  hitched  to  the  unaccus- 
tomed vehicles.  The  band-men  climbed  up  and 
spread  themselves  over  the  chariot  to  which  it  was 
found  necessary  to  attach  four  horses.  An  old 
teamster,  with  a  blue  shirt  and  battered  derby  hat, 
announced  that  he  had  handled  fours  on  a  stage- 
line,  hoisted  himself  up  and  took  the  reins.  There 
was  a  scramble  when  the  kindly  camel  tried  to  bite 
the  man  who  volunteered  to  lead  him  in  the  parade  to 
the  Zoological  Garden,  and  the  Colonel  proudly 
mounted  to  a  seat  beside  the  driver  of  the  chariot. 
He  sustained  a  pang  of  regret  because  he  had  not 
hired  a  hundred-thousand-dollar  beauty  for  the  seat 
of  honor.  All  being  ready,  he  grandly  waved  his 
hand  for  a  start.  The  procession  moved  slowly 
away  from  the  docks. 

On  Main  Street,  Arabella  with  Lester  had  been 
walking  slowly  along  after  doing  some  light  shop- 
ping in  the  new  stores,  and  the  two  had  now  been 
joined  by  Burmah  Jones  and  Hubbard.  On  a  sud- 
den, they  discerned  signs  of  excitemnt  at  the  far 
end  of  the   street.     Men  began   running  here   and 


256  THE  BOOMERS. 

there,  and  women  thrust  heads  from  windows.  Girl 
clerks  appeared  on  the  stoops  of  the  shops,  and 
individuals  shouted  to  one  another  to  know  whether 
it  was  a  fire,  or  a  riot  that  threatened  the  "City  Beau- 
tiful." Arabella  and  her  companions  paused,  and 
began  to  ask  questions,  and  Burmah  Jones  won- 
dered whether  some  cataclysm  had  not  appeared  to 
overwhelm  the  city. 

Abruptly,  from  a  band  burst  a  blare  of  sound, 
and  into  the  head  of  the  street  swung  the  chariot, 
with  the  Colonel  on  the  seat.  He  bowed  and  smiled 
to  right  and  left,  as  pleased  as  a  boy  with  a  splendid 
new  toy.  The  driver  sat  squattily  beside  him  with 
his  dented  derby  hat  down  over  his  ears,  controlling 
with  a  masterful  hand  horses  that  were  frightened 
by  this  sudden  noise  behind  them.  Herr  Schmidt's 
cheeks  were  distended  as,  intent  on  creating  all  the 
hubbub  possible  for  his  advent,  he  added  the  shrill 
clamor  of  his  clarionet.  The  drivers  on  top  of  the 
animal  cages  grinned  their  appreciation  of  this  un- 
expected honor,  and  Zo-Zo  trudged  beside  the  ele- 
phant with  hook  in  hand.  The  camel  had  settled  to 
his  long  awkward  stride,  and  in  the  calliope  at  the 
rear  end  Slivers  watched  the  steam-gauge  rise  to 
the  popping  point,  and  wished  the  band  would  finish. 
Finally  in  desperation,  he  climbed  up  to  the  keys, 
and  sent  the  jerky  strains  of  "Sweet  Violets"  out  to 
join  the  clamor,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  band, 
but  a  short  distance  ahead,  was  bravely  pumping 
away  at  the  latest  Sousa  march.  The  coyote  found 
lungs  to  bark  a  shrill,  painful  bark,  and  even  the 
hyena  had  sufficient  appreciation  of  the  situation  to 
vent  a  cackling  laugh  at  Port  Hatch. 


THE  BOOMERS.  257 

And  Port  Hatch  was  first  astonished,  then  con- 
vulsed ! 

As  the  Colonel  came  abreast  of  his  daughter  and 
her  companions,  he  recognized  them  and  stood  up 
and  bowed  and  waved  a  frantic  hand,  beckoning 
them  to  follow  the  big  parade.  Burmah  staggered 
back  against  the  nearest  building,  and  said,  slowly, 
and  with  great  disgust: 

"Well,  I'll  be  damned!" 

Arabella  went  through  all  the  emotions  of  curi- 
osity, astonishment  and  perplexity,  and  ended  with 
an  appreciation  of  the  ridiculous.  She  laughed 
until  tears  streamed  from  her  eyes,  and  clung  to 
Lester's  arm  for  support.  Lester  burst  into  a  shout 
of  amusement  that  could  be  heard  by  all  those 
near  by,  and  Hubbard  scowled  savagely  at  the 
pageant,  then  brightened  when  he  surmised  that  all 
this  must  be  destined  for  the  roomy  concrete  animal 
dens  he  had  so  painstakingly  supervised  in  the  new 
Park.  Quite  whimsically,  he  regretted  that  he  had 
not  built  an  extra  den  for  the  Colonel  himself. 

The  residents  of  Port  Hatch  abandoned  shops 
and  work,  and  crowded  into  the  road.  Carpenters 
and  masons  hurriedly  descended  ladders,  and  joined 
the  throng,  so  that  the  whole  population  of  Port 
Hatch  was  on  hand  to  witness  the  Colonel's  triumph. 
The  Colonel  waved  his  hand  commandingly  to  Herr 
Schmidt,  and  the  latest  Sousa  march  came  to  a  stam- 
mering halt  in  which  the  second  trombone  and  the 
drums  shared  the  final  tone.  Slivers,  out  of  steam, 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  a  wailing  strain,  and  looked 
out  toward  the  front  of  the  procession. 

"Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens  of  Port  Hatch,  the 


258  THE  BOOMERS. 

fairest  of  cities,  gather  round  me,"  shouted  the 
Colonel,  oratoricallj,  as  he  stood  on  his  feet,  bare- 
headed, and  gazed  down  at  them  from  his  lofty 
perch.  "This  day  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
our  beloved  city.  A  zoological  garden  is  an  educa- 
tion for  the  young,  a  delight  for  the  old,  and  a 
source  of  constant  entertainment  for  the  middle- 
aged.  No  city  can  achieve  true  greatness  without 
one.  We  have  here  the  beginning  of  what  shall  be 
the  most  distinguished  exhibit  of  modern  times,  and 
I  take  the  utmost  pleasure  in  presenting  it  to  you, 
with  the  hearty  wish  that  it  may  prove  a  fountain 
of  never  ceasing  gratification  and  entertainment.  I 
have  the  rare  pleasure  of  surprising  you,  and  of 
knowing  that  you  appreciate  my  efforts  in  your 
behalf.  I  have  secured  a  most  unsuspected  bargain, 
for  it  is  rarely  that  a  man  has  the  blessed  oppor- 
tunity to  acquire,  at  one  time,  such  a  magnificent 
collection  of  animals  as  those  I  am  about  to  install 
in  our  beautiful  garden.  I  have  also  the  pleasure 
of  informing  you  that  I  have  engaged,  permanently, 
the  services  of  a  master  musician  and  his  right- 
excellent  organization.  Mister  Smith,  who  will  here- 
after lend  this  city  of  ours  the  inspiration  of  divine 
music.  As  has  been  so  aptly  said  by  the  great  poet, 
*He  who  hath  not  music  in  his  soul,  is  fit  for  strat- 
agems, for  treason  and  for  spoils.'  I  know  that 
there  is  none  in  our  midst  to  whom  this  can  apply. 
We  will  now  repair  to  the  new  Park,  and  liberate 
our  charges." 

He  sat  down,  and  as  he  did  so  waved  his  hand 
toward  Herr  Schmidt,  and  spoke  to  the  driver  with 
the  dented  derby.     The  band  struck  into  the  inspir- 


THE  BOOMERS.  259 

ing  strains  of  "Kippers  for  Tea" — but  not  before 
Slivers,  succumbing  to  habit,  had  bawled  out  in  a 
raucous  voice: 

"Follow  the  parade  to  the  show-grounds.  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen,  where  a  grand  free  exhibition  will 
take  place." 

Immediately  after,  with  a  full  head  of  steam,  he 
selected,  "There'll  be  a  Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town 
To-night,"  and  did  his  utmost  to  drown  the  noise  of 
the  band  as  the  procession  moved  forward. 

The  whole  street  seemed  to  rock  with  it,  and 
Arabella,  still  laughing,  and  Burmah,  scowling,  were 
carried  along  in  the  swirl  of  humanity.  The 
elephant,  gouged  by  Zo-Zo,  shuffled  forward  in  the 
rear  of  the  lion's  cage,  and  the  camel  slowly  moved 
his  rheumatic  joints,  and  sagged  ahead  as  if  tired  of 
everything  in  the  world.  The  hyena  once  more 
vented  a  howl,  and  to  Burmah  it  sounded  like  a  laugh 
of  overmastering  ridicule  for  the  "whole  blooming 

show." "Buzzard's  Biggest"  had  come  to 

rest. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AND  THE  KNAVE  RUNS  AWAY. 

Spring  had  come  again,  glorious  with  green  robes 
patterned  with  flowers.  The  Conover  syndicate  had 
taken  up  the  v/ork  of  advertising  the  town  more  ex- 
tensively than  Burmah  found  himself  able  to  do,  and 
the  whole  United  States  was  familiar  with  that  map 
showing  the  proposed  route  of  the  Atlantic  &  Oriental 
Railway,  its  lines  heavy,  black  and  straight,  and 
running  toward  Port  Hatch  with  a  directness  in- 
dicating that  they  never  by  any  possibility  could 
swerve  elsewhere.  Day  by  day,  the  real  line  had 
crept  across  Montana  and  Idaho,  and  the  State  of 
Washington  had  granted  it  a  charter  to  come  to  tide- 
water "at  a  point  to  be  later  named."  Adroitly  had 
the  Conover  crowd  and  Burmah  indicated  to  possible 
purchasers  that,  if  the  line  had  ever  intended  to  go 
to  Seattle  or  Tacoma  it  would  have  so  stated,  and 
that,  logically.  Port  Hatch  was  the  terminus  intended. 

Port  Hatch  was  one  of  the  best-advertised  cities 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  Colonel  Hatch,  with  his 
eccentricities,  had  become  a  nationally  known 
character.  He  was  good  copy,  and  good  copy,  too, 
that  Burmah  had  not  hesitated  to  use,  although  he 
spent  weary  hours  when  alone,  "cussing"  the  Colonel 
for  being  a  fine  old  fool.  Port  Hatch  had  become 
more  than  a  frontier  town;  it  was  a  thriving  little 
city,  built  on  the  sands  of  hope,  and  Burmah  Jones 
the  only  one  who  knew  that  its  foundation  was  a 

260 


THE  BOOMERS.  261 

lie.  From  that  very  day  when  he  had  resolved  to 
"stick  it  out,"  he  had  never  announced  as  a  certainty 
that  the  railway  was  coming  there.  There  were 
some  two  or  three  hundred  persons  who  wondered  at 
this  reticence,  when  remembering  his  bald  statements 
made  in  the  beginning,  but  Fate  had  taken  a  hand 
in  Burmah's  behalf,  and  the  railway  slowly  advanced 
toward  the  Coast.  He  was  making  a  hard  fight, 
every  hour  of  his  life,  and  his  mind  lay  as  a  battle- 
ground between  his  newly  discovered  integrity  and 
his  old  habits  of  "gettin'  the  money,  no  matter  how !" 
Added  to  this  was  the  distress  of  having  come  at 
last  to  the  one  obstacle  he  had  ever  met  in  his 
career  that  could  not  be  surmounted,  avoided,  or  left 
behind.  That  obstacle  was  the  Colonel's  extrava- 
gance— for  the  conspiracy  had  failed,   absolutely. 

The  Colonel  had  given  Port  Hatch  two  or  three 
other  gratifying  surprises.  The  first,  by  building 
a  concert-hall  for  Herr  Schmidt's  band,  with  ad- 
joining club-  and  living-rooms  for  the  musicians, 
and  Herr  Schmidt,  in  the  ecstasy  of  creation,  had 
gathered  together  a  most  creditable  organization, 
such  a  one  as  would  have  shamed  the  band  he  brought 
to  Port  Hatch  just  seven  months  before.  His  dream 
of  plumbers,  tailors,  and  tin-smiths  had  been  realized, 
and.  Fate  again  dealing  kindly  with  him,  the  band 
had  made  a  concert-trip  along  the  Coast,  a  trip  which 
had  been  highly  successful.  Little  Billy,  loaned  for 
this  enterprise,  had  proven  a  most  adept  manager, 
and  Pick,  who  took  a  vacation  long  enough  to  act  as 
press-agent,  thus  saved  the  Colonel's  purse  some 
few  thousands  of  dollars. 

Then,  again,  the  Colonel  presented  the  city  with 


262  THE  BOOMERS. 

beautiful  baths  down  at  the  water's  edge,  where  in 
winter  young  men  might  disport  themselves  in  arti- 
ficially heated  water  beneath  a  colored-glass  dome. 
A  new  fire-engine-house,  also,  with  its  ornamental 
front  and  elegant  rooms  above,  he  gave.  It  was  the 
Colonel  who  bought  the  automobile  fire-apparatus, 
and  a  fine  line  of  uniforms  and  equipment.  It  was 
the  Colonel  who  caused  to  be  constructed  a  miniature 
house  in  the  Park.  It  was  the  Colonel  who  had  the 
alarm  turned  in  for  the  first  fire  in  Port  Hatch,  and 
it  was  the  Colonel  who  had  then  ridden,  gaily  whoop- 
ing, to  see  that  fire  extinguished,  and  have  the  com- 
pany's efficiency  demonstrated.  The  city  was  the 
best  lighted  of  its  size  in  the  world,  putting  forth  a 
profligate  display  of  street  clusters  on  ornamental 
pillars  of  concrete,  because  the  Colonel  had  pre- 
sented Port  Hatch  with  an  electric  light-plant,  run 
by  power  from  high  up  in  the  mountains.  At  night, 
the  city's  water-front  glowed  like  a  fairy  land,  and 
Marquard  Villa  shone  far  over  the  sound  to  the 
astonishment  of  strange  voyagers. 

Hubbard  wrought  well,  and  had  refused  a  position 
as  chief  architect  for  a  world's  fair;  of  the  proffer, 
not  a  word  escaped  him  until  after  it  became  known 
in  Port  Hatch,  because  he  was  still  desperately  in 
love  with  the  "City  Beautiful,"  and,  incidentally, 
with  Arabella.  Burmah's  last  futile  stand  with  the 
Colonel  came  when  the  latter  announced  that  he  would 
yet  build  the  marble  opera-house.  On  that  night, 
Burmah  had  risen  to  tempestuous  heights  in  his 
embarrassment. 

"We  talked  of  that  once  before.  Colonel.  You 
promised  to  chop  down  expenses.     Then  what  did 


THE  BOOMERS.  263 

you  do?  Humph!  You  went  and  bought  a  lousy 
menagerie  and  a  Dutch  band.  You  brought  'em 
home  with  a  calliope  that  you  finally  had  play  every 
Saturday  afternoon  for  the  children  in  the  Park. 
Hubbard  goes  to  work  and  builds  a  band-stand. 
Before  it's  done,  you  tell  him  you've  got  to  have  it 
moved  to  the  back  end  of  the  Park  near  the  animals' 
dens,  because  you  don't  want  the  poor  captives, 
exiled  far  from  the  fastness  of  their  native  heaths, 
and  brought  like  slaves  to  our  grand  and  magnificent 
city,  to  be  robbed  of  their  share  of  the  music,  which 
the  poet  declares  'hath  charms  to  sooth  the  savage 
breast.'  " 

He  had  given  a  fine  and  exact  imitation  of  the 
Colonel's  speech  on  that  occasion,  and  the  Colonel 
winced  a  trifle  at  the  recollection. 

"Then  what  happens?"  Burmah  had  asked,  shak- 
ing a  pudgy  fist  aloft.  "You  have  the  band-stand 
built  over  again.  The  band,  under  that  old  beer- 
tub.  Smith,  gets  into  it,  and  hits  up  a  rag-time 
march,  and  the  poor  damn'  exiles  gets  up  on  their  hind 
legs,  and  howls  their  heads  off,  and  is  so  scared  they 
tries  to  bite  e  bars  down  so  they  can  get  at  them 
Dutchmen,  and  tear  their  heads  off!  Then  what  do 
you  do?  You  shake  your  head,  and  say  the  poet 
must  have  been  mistaken,  and  promptly  order  the 
band-stand  torn  down  and  moved  out  to  the  front 
end  of  the  Park  again,  so  the  *poor  home-sick  exiles 
won't  be  grieved  by  the  dulcet  strains  so  reminiscent 
of  the  wind  through  the  gorgeous  jungles  whence 
they  came'." 

Again,  the  Colonel  had  squirmed  at  this  adroit 
mimicry. 


264  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmah  had  implored,  threatened,  cajoled,  warned 
and  stormed,  in  his  efforts  to  curb  the  Colonel's  out- 
lay ;  but  he  might  as  well  have  whistled  the  wind  down. 
Always  the  Colonel  had  been  either  furiously  digni- 
fied, or  readily  acquiescent,  and  always  the  end  had 
been  the  same.  More  lots  were  sold,  at  constantly 
increasing  prices,  the  Colonel  had  been  given  his 
half  of  the  proceeds,  and  always  he  found  some  new 
method  of  expenditure.  And  so,  on  this  May  morn- 
ing. Port  Hatch  was  in  reality  the  "City  Beautiful." 
Colonel  Hatch  was  sitting  in  his  library,  dreamily 
wishing  that  another  sale  would  be  made  because  his 
bank-balance  was  down  to  three  thousand  dollars, 
Arabella  was  taking  a  horseback  ride  with  Lester, 
and  Burmah  Jones,  with  a  few  more  gray  hairs  in 
his  head,  was  standing  in  the  overhanging  window 
above  the  Port  Hatch  Land  Offices,  and  staring 
moodily  up  the  street.  Gay  with  flower-boxes  were 
the  shop  buildings,  due  to  the  Hatch  Cup,  for  which 
everyone  vied,  it  being  offered  by  the  Colonel  as 
an  annual  prize  for  the  best  business  floral  display. 
Gay  with  flowers  were  the  electric  light-pillars,  on 
each  of  which  stood  an  ornaments,  steel  flower- 
box,  high  above  the  street,  resplendent  with  blossom- 
ing flowers  and  drooping  vines.  A  half-dozen  boats 
now  stopped  at  Port  Hatch  on  their  daily  rounds, 
for  it  was  the  show  city  of  Puget  Sound,  and  the 
bellowing  of  their  arrival  no  longer  stirred  the 
little  city  to  a  state  of  curious  excitement.  Boats 
came  and  went,  regularly,  and  not  infrequently  ex- 
cursion steamers  deposited  chattering  crowds  to 
view  the  much  advertised  model  city  of  the  world.  The 
keepers  of  curio-shops  were  the  only  on^s  that  kept 


THE  BOOMERS.  265 

the  schedules,  for  all  who  came  carried  away  the 
Indian  souvenirs,  the  miniature  totem-poles,  the 
glass  paper-weights  with  pictures  of  Colonel  Hatch 
on  the  fire-engine,  and  the  beautiful  views  of  the 
"quaintest  city  on  the  American  continent." 

Burmah,  standing  at  the  window,  and  worried  over 
the  Colonel's  latest  announcement,  heard  the  whistle 
of  an  in-coming  boat,  and  wondered  if  it  brought 
more  investors.  A  short  time  later,  he  lifted  his 
head  as  does  a  starved  hound  scenting  meat,  and 
screwed  his  eyebrows  into  a  penetrating  stare,  as  he 
saw  a  group  of  men  slowly  walking  along  Main 
Street,  and  scrutinizing  its  beauties.  Then,  when 
they  were  almost  beneath  his  window,  one  of  the  men 
looked  up,  and  Burmah,  with  a  start,  hastily  drew 
back  into  the  room  and  out  of  sight,  and  his  face 
suddenly  lost  color  and  expressed  fear. 

"Thornton !"  he  exclaimed.  "Old  man  Thornton 
that  I  buncoed  out  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  on  a 
fake  reclamation  scheme  in  Florida.  And  with  him 
is  Carleton  that  I  got  for  ten  thousand  in  the 
Chicago  title  game!  And  Sprague  that  I  trimmed 
on  the  Pawnee-reservation  sale!  All  here  in  Port 
Hatch !    It's  the  finish !    I  must  duck !" 

With  surprising  agility,  he  stepped  to  the  private 
telephone  that  led  to  the  offices  below,  and  called  up 
Little  Billy. 

"If  anyone  asks  for  me  to-day,  say  that  I'm  not 
here,"  he  ordered.  "And  tell  'em  that  I've  gone  to 
Seattle  for  three  or  four  days.  Understand?  All 
right !     Remember — three  or  four  days !" 

Then  he  slipped  back  to  the  window,  and  was 
relieved  when   he  saw  the  group   of  men   who   had 


266  THE  BOOMERS. 

SO  disturbed  him  still  sauntering  nonchalantly  up 
the  street,  and  staring  at  the  beauty  of  the  build- 
ings that  Hubbard  had  created.  He  jumped  to  his 
dresser,  and  took  from  it  three  or  four  photographs, 
the  gold  toilet-set  that  Arabella  had  given  him  as  a 
Christmas  present,  his  bank-books,  and  some  other 
little  personal  belongings.  Next,  he  hurried  into 
his  luxurious  bath-room,  and  snatched  up  what  he 
wanted  from  there,  then  paused  in  front  of  his 
clothes-closet.  One  suit  he  took  and  threw  it  into 
a  suit-case,  after  looking  regretfully  at  the  others. 

"I  can  buy  more,"  he  muttered,  and  closed  the 
door.  "No  time  to  lose,  if  I  want  to  catch  the  boat 
on  its  return  trip.  Got  to  hustle  now !  The  game's 
finished!" 

In  five  minutes,  he  was  walking  down  the  street 
with  his  suit-case  in  his  hand,  apparently  the  same 
busy  little  man  so  familiar  to  every  one  in  Port 
Hatch.  As  he  walked,  he  glanced  neither  to  right 
nor  left,  but  kept  his  eyes  straight  ahead,  and  his 
lips  tightly  shut;  for  even  in  his  panic  he  had  time 
to  regret  this  catastrophe  of  a  blackened  past,  lift- 
ing itself  to  confront  him  in  his  prosperity.  He 
dared  not  look  at  the  street  he  had  come  to  admire 
and  love.  He  was  afraid  that  moisture  would  rise 
to  his  eyes.  Sentiment  he  had  always  hated.  He 
dared  not  look  back  its  length  for  a  farewell,  as 
he  came  to  the  point  where  the  road  dipped  sharply 
down  along  the  edge  of  the  cliff.  He  dared  not 
lift  his  eyes  toward  the  point  where,  like  a  crown, 
stood  Marquard  Villa.  He  plunged  onward  down 
the  path  with  ever  hurrying  steps  to  board  the  boat, 
and    escape   the    exposure    that   he   knew    certainly 


THE  BOOMERS.  267 

must  come.  They  could  do  nothing  to  him  through 
the  law,  but  they  could  expose  his  past,  and  leave 
him  standing  naked  in  his  ignominy,  before  these 
citizens  of  Port  Hatch  who  had  trusted  him,  and 
regarded  him  as  the  soul  of  business  honor.  And 
from  that  nudity  he  fled. 

"Wait!  Wait!"  he  shouted  as,  perspiring  and 
breathing  heavily,  he  ran  out  on  the  wharf,  just 
as  the  boat's  gang-plank  was  being  lifted.  The 
officer  on  the  bridge,  recognizing  him  as  the  im- 
portant Barmah  Jones,  ordered  it  lowered  away, 
and  watched  as  he  ran  up  it. 

"Close  shave.  Sir,"  he  called  down,  in  the  friendly 
greeting  that  is  always  accorded  men  of  affairs. 

But  Burmah  did  not  reply.  He  gave  his  suit- 
case to  an  obsequious  steward,  and  walked  aft  as  the 
boat  swung  away  from  the  wharf,  and  headed  toward 
Seattle.  He  was  glad  that  he  was  alone,  to  think, 
to  regret,  and  to  take  his  parting  look  at  the  city 
that  he  had  built,  at  the  white  little  palace  on  the 
hill  that  gleamed  through  the  trees  on  one  side,  and 
hung  suspended  from  the  cliff  on  the  other.  In  it 
he  had  been  honored  and  respected.  There  was  the 
room  devoted  to  his  needs,  always,  a  room  he  had 
so  seldom  occupied.  There  was  the  pagoda  where 
he  had  so  frequently  laughed  with  Arabella,  who 
had  taken  to  calling  him  "Uncle  Burmah."  There 
was  the  terrace  where  he  had  so  many  times  expostu- 
lated with  the  Colonel,  who  loved  him  as  a  brother, 
and  believed  in  him  as  he  did  in  his  own  success. 
There  was  the  court  where  the  boys  from  Chatta- 
nooga had  tried  to  teach  him  tennis  on  idle  evc' 
nings,  when  the  sun  painted  the  Olympics  purple 


268  THE  BOOMERS. 

and  red  as  the  world  swung  away  from  its  benev- 
olent stare.  Out  in  the  sound,  the  steamer  passed 
a  smart  little  sloop,  and  Skaggs,  at  the  helm,  recog- 
nizing him,  waved  a  friendly  hand.  Up  beyond  was 
Todd's  lumber-yard,  now  grown  to  mammoth  pro- 
portions, and  it  reminded  him  of  Bill  Todd,  the 
humble  sacrifice  to  love  and  loyalty,  who  had  poured 
his  heart  out  to  him,  and  had  won  his  protection. 
Todd,  Skaggs,  the  boys  from  Chattanooga,  Ara- 
bella, the  Colonel — all — everyone — would  know  by 
to-morrow  that  he  was  a  crook,  a  scalawag,  an  ad- 
venturer, a  liar,  a  confidence  man!  His  past  had 
come  to  tear  him  down,  and  the  men  he  had  swindled 
had  come  to  expose  him.  What  was  the  use  in  try- 
ing to  be  "on  the  level !"  Despite  himself,  his  gray 
eyes  were  moist  .and  filled  with  regret  when  the 
steamer  rounded  a  bend,  and  a  long  wooded  tongue 
cut  the  site  of  victory  and  of  hope  from  view. 

Strange  events  were  working  themselves  out  in 
Port  Hatch  on  that  day  of  May,  as  if  the  loose 
threads  were  being  drawn  together  by  some  inscrut- 
fMe  and  master  hand.  Lester,  riding  care-free  and 
contented  beside  Arabella,  seemed  involved.  He 
rode  his  horse  with  a  firm  hand,  and  laughter  and 
happiness  were  blended  in  his  eyes  as  they  came 
galloping  down  the  mountain  road  from  the  reser- 
voir, homeward  bound. 

"I'm  so  hungry,  that  I  can  scarcely  wait  for  the 
luncheon-hour,"  announced  Arabella,  as  they  pulled 
their  mounts  down  to  a  breathing  walk.  "You 
must  come  on  up  with  me,  and  assist  in  destruction. 
There's  cold  ham,  and  cold  tongue,  and  cold  kippers, 
and  a  salad  that  only  Uncle  Jeff  can  make,  and — " 


THE  BOOMERS.  269 

"But  hadn't  I  better  go  home  first,  and  get  rid 
of  the  dust?"  he  inquired. 

"No,  Sir.  That's  nonsense.  The  peck  of  dirt 
theory,  you  know !  Besides,  you  can  wash  and  clean 
just  as  well  at  our  house  as  anywhere,  because  we 
aren't  barbarians,  you  know.  We  have  several  very 
fine  wash-bowls." 

"But  that  wouldn't  give  me  an  excuse  to  hang 
around  all  the  afternoon,"  he  insisted.  "And  if  I 
go  home  first,  then  you  have  no  excuse  to  get  rid 
of  me." 

"Who  said  we  wanted  to?"  she  asked,  without 
looking  up. 

"I  should  think  you  would,"  he  suggested,  look- 
ing at  her  with  a  desperate  eagerness  in  his  eyes. 
"You  know,  I  am  the  one  who  almost  lives  at  Mar- 
quard.     And  I  think  you  know  why.     Don't  you.?" 

"Oh,  fudge!"  she  exclaimed,  smiling  at  him. 
"That's  what  they  all  say.  For  goodness'  sake,  be 
sensible !  It's  getting  so  that  the  only  one  I  like 
to  see  is  Uncle  Burmah.  He  always  proposes  mar- 
riage, and  then  says  he  will  expect  an  answer  in 
three  days,  and  then  forgets  all  about  it  when  the 
three  days  are  up." 

Lester's  eyes  suddenly  took  on  a  harsh  look,  and 
he  rode  a  little  stiffly  as  they  debouched  into  the 
Main  Street.  And  then,  coming  toward  them,  they 
saw  the  group  of  men  that  had  arrested  Burmah's 
attention.  The  men,  with  Thornton  at  their  head, 
were  walking  close  together,  and  engrossed  in  some 
argument.  Involuntarily,  Lester's  hand  tightened 
on  the  reins,  and  his  mouth  shut  into  a  straight  line. 
He   scowled  at  the  men   as   if  to   make   certain   of 


2T0  THE  BOOMERS. 

their  identity;  then  his  horse  suddenly  reared, 
pivoted  on  its  hind  hoofs,  swung  an  angry  head, 
and  leaped  oif  into  a  side  street.  To  all  appear- 
ances the  animal  was  intent  on  bolting,  and  Lester 
had  a  hard  time  to  control  it. 

Arabella,  at  first  amused,  then  solicitous,  as  the 
animal  disappeared  from  sight,  turned  her  horse's 
head,  and  galloped  in  pursuit.  When  she  succeeded 
in  overtaking  him,  she  found  him  quieting  the 
horse  by  stroking  the  wet  neck,  and  speaking  sooth- 
ingly. 

He  swung  out  of  the  saddle,  and  examined  the 
girths. 

"What  on  earth  was  the  matter?"  demanded  Ara- 
bella, reining  in  beside  him. 

"Must  have  been  something  wrong  with  the  girths, 
I  think,"  said  Lester,  carelessly,  as  he  caught  his 
reins,  and  vaulted  into  the  saddle  again.  "But, 
inasmuch  as  we  are  this  far  along  the  side  street, 
we  might  as  well  go  ahead  this  way,  mightn't  we.''" 

Arabella  assented  and  started  forward,  all  un- 
conscious that  the  cause  of  the  horse's  leap  had 
been  that  the  animal  was  suddenly  pricked  heavily 
with  the  spur,  and  that  Mr.  Lester  was  extremely 
hopeful  that  none  of  the  group  of  men  had  had 
time  to  recognize  him.  . 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TO  BE  MASTERED  BY  HONESTY. 

BuRMAH  Jones,  the  first  step  of  flight  passed, 
and  standing  alone  outside  the  smoking-room  of  the 
steamer,  became  conscious  of  the  vigorous  voices 
of  men  above  him,  and  looked  up  to  see  the  captain 
and  the  chief  officer  leaning  over  the  wing  of  the 
bridge. 

"You  can  bet  your  last  dollar  on  one  thing," 
declared  the  skipper,  "that  if  I  had  been  on  the 
examining  board  I'd  have  done  more  than  throw  him 
on  the  beach.  You  see,  his  tug  had  a  tow  of  scows, 
and,  when  the  storm  came  up,  he  left  those  poor 
devils  to  go  down,  and  ran  for  a  port.  The  fact 
that  the  scows  outlasted  the  storm,  and  that  they 
were  picked  up  by  another  boat,  proves  that  Cap- 
tain Ritter  could  have  stood  by." 

"That's  the  way  I  look  at  it,  too,"  asserted  the 
chief  officer.  "That  man  was  a  quitter!  That's 
what  he  was !  And  there  ain't  any  man  in  the  world 
as  rotten  as  a  quitter.  Somehow,  you  can  forgive 
a  pick-pocket,  or  a  murderer,  in  most  cases,  but 
there's  no  one  has  any  use  for  a  quitter!  It's  a 
pity  they  couldn't  have  sent  Ritter  to  the  pen." 

Burmah  suddenly  decided  that  some  other  por- 
tion of  the  deck  would  be  more  congenial,  and  he 
moved  away;  but  the  echo  of  the  voices  still  fol- 
lowed him  with  accusation,  insistently  repeating 
honest  men's  opinions  of  such  as  he.     And,  then, 

271 


272  THE  BOOMERS. 

he  began  to  wonder  at  himself,  and  to  ponder  the 
situation,  dully  holding  a  tribunal  of  the  soul  in 
which  he  put  himself  on  trial,  one  half  of  himself 
the  prosecutor,  the  other  half  the  defendant.  His 
brain  felt  tired,  and  he  was  not  certain  that  the 
game  of  life  was  worth  playing,  after  all.  He  knew 
that  he  now  had  sufficient  money  to  retire  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days,  retreating  to  some  place 
where  he  was  unknown,  and  where  he  hoped  to  be 
respected;  but  always  there  came  again  from  his 
ample  reservoirs  of  common-sense  the  certain  knowl- 
edge that,  wherever  he  went,  there  would  be  fear  that 
some  one  would  come  who  knew  him,  and  would  ex- 
pose him  for  what  he  was,  a  "quitter" — a  man  who 
had  betrayed  his  best  friend  by  running  away  when 
everything  was  at  stake!  He  began  a  closer 
analysis  of  his  flight.  It  came  as  a  surprise  to  find 
that  it  was  not  actuated  so  much  by  the  certain 
humiliation  of  meeting  his  victims,  and  being 
stripped  of  reputation  by  their  charges,  as  through 
fear  of  facing  Arabella,  the  Colonel,  Hubbard,  and 
the  quartet  from  Chattanooga.  It  was  the  scorn 
of  those  he  loved  that  made  him  a  coward.  As  for 
what  Thornton,  Sprague  and  Carleton  might  have 
said,  he  would  have  listened  to  them,  grinned,  and 
said: 

"Well,  what  are  you  goin'  to  do  about  it,  now 
that  you've  told  what  easy  marks  you  were  ?  You've 
got  nothin'  on  me  for  the  courts,  you  know." 

But  those  others!  He  knew,  now,  that  he  was 
hungry  for  the  esteem  and  affection  of  clean  persons, 
right-thinking  persons,  persons  who  never  faltered 
where  honor  was  involved.     Moreover,  he  was  sure 


THE  BOOMERS.  273 

that  never  again  in  the  world  could  he  find  such 
as  those  he  left  behind.  '  All  their  failings  now  be- 
came amusing,  and  all  their  virtues  magnified.  Even 
Hubbard's  genius  he  recognized  as  being  some- 
thing big  and  worthy.  The  Colonel,  financial  simple- 
ton that  he  was,  loomed  in  Burmah's  memory  as  a 
giant  of  kindly  nobility,  one  too  fine  to  be  tarnished 
by  c-  e  sordidness  of  greed,  too  big  and  sincere  to 
be  trammeled  by  conventions. 

But  how  had  these  former  dupes  of  his  learned 
that  he  was  there  in  Port  Hatch?  It  could  not 
have  been  chance  alone  that  had  worked  to  this  end. 
Yet,  chance  might  have  set  a  sign-post  for  his  un- 
doing, despite  all  his  efforts.  He  had  fought 
throughout,  as  was  his  habit,  to  keep  in  the  back- 
ground, and  to  keep  his  name  out  of  the  newspapers ; 
but,  despite  his  utmost  care  and  self-effacement,  the 
newspapers  had  come  to  regard  him  as  the  central 
figure  in  the  limelight  of  achievement,  and  to  refer 
to  the  Colonel  only  in  a  good-natured,  whimsical 
way  whenever  the  latter  had  perpetrated  some  new 
extravaganza.  This  must  be  the  manner  in  which 
Thornton  and  the  others  had  learned  of  his 
presence  in  Port  Hatch.  Millionaires  that  they 
were,  they  might  have  left  alone  one  so  humble  as 
Burmah  Jones;  but  that  trait  of  "getting  even" 
seemed  to  be  a  pretty  general  one,  from  which  his 
victims  were  not  immune.  Also,  Burmah  admitted, 
they  might  be  acting  from  a  sense  of  duty — the 
duty  of  preventing  other  men  from  becoming  his 
dupes.  They  might  have  been  visiting  Seattle, 
picked  up  a  newspaper,  made  a  few  inquiries,  and 
then  believed  it  an  obligation  to  visit  Port  Hatch, 


274  THE  BOOMERS. 

and  notify  its  residents,  the  Colonel,  everyone,  to 
beware.  They  would  find  one  person,  at  least,  ready 
to  listen  to  them,  and  that  was  Lester. 

At  the  thought  of  the  keen-eyed  young  man  who 
had  seemed  to  read  his  motives,  Burmah  got  up 
from  the  capstan  where  he  had  been  sitting,  and 
walked  impatiently  to  and  fro  the  narrow  width  of 
the  deck,  his  short  legs  moving  restlessly,  anJ.  his 
short  feet,  with  their  patent-leather  shoes  and  white 
gaiters,  almost  twinkling  as  they  struck  the  planks. 

"Who  in  the  deuce  can  Lester  be,  anyhow?"  he 
asked  himself,  in  perplexity.  "Where  did  he  come 
irom?  He  was  there  fishin'  the  first  time  we  saw 
him,  and  had  old  Skaggs  and  Flay  lor  his  only 
friends,  and  I  sort  of  got  the  idea  that  he  was 
just  a  ten-dollar-a-week  clerk  out  on  a  vacation. 
Then  he  made  me  think  he  was  there  for  his  health, 
and  liked  the  out-doors  stuff.  But  he's  been  there 
now  more'n  a  year  and  a  half,  save  for  a  trip  off 
somewhere  about  once  in  three  or  four  months,  and 
he  never  seems  to  have  money  to  blow  around  the 
club,  and  he  ain't  never  short  of  money,  and  he 
don't  do  nothin'  at  all  except  to  make  love  to  Ara- 
bella, and — hang  him!  I  wonder  if  he  had  a  finger 
in  this  game !" 

For  quite  a  time,  he  debated  this  feature,  and  at 
last  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Lester  could  be 
nothing  more  than  a  dawdler  of  just  sufficient  in- 
come to  live  modestly  in  some  isolated  situation  like 
Port  Hatch.  Chance  alone  had  brought  on  the 
crash  of  the  card-castle  he  had  erected,  and  in  which 
he  had  lived  so  long,  so  successfully,  and  so  happily. 

The  boat  drew  slowly  into  the  dock  at  Seattle, 


THE  BOOMERS.  275 

and  Jones,  with  suit-case  in  hand,  walked  down  the 
gang-plank,  and  was  so  abstracted  that  he  failed 
to  recognize  the  captain's  friendly  parting  salute, 
or  to  deliver  his  scant  luggage  to  the  porter  who 
had  always  welcomed  him  as  a  friend.  He  passed 
across  the  tracks  to  the  railway  station,  and  frowned 
at  the  time-tables  conveniently  hung  in  frames  for 
the  benefit  of  the  travelers,  and  his  sharp  eyes  ran 
rapidly  down  the  column  devoted  to  through  trains, 
eastward  bound.  Once  more  he  was  the  old  Bur- 
mah  Jones,  again  covering  his  tracks.  He  must 
first  take  a  local  train  bound  for  a  near-by  station, 
then  suddenly  appear  to  change  his  mind,  drop  oif, 
catch  a  through  train,  and  disappear.  There  were 
plently  of  trains  that  would  serve  his  purpose,  and 
he  made  a  mental  selection.  This  done,  he  must 
go  to  the  different  banks  in  which  he  had  scattered 
his  deposits,  and  draw  as  closely  as  he  dared,  and 
he  was  already  formulating  the  glib  excuse  which 
had  so  often  served  him — that  of  requiring  cash 
to  satisfy  an  unreasonable  customer.  Also,  he  would 
drop  the  hint,  in  an  off-hand  way,  that  the  bank 
might  be  compelled  to  meet  some  drafts  should  he 
be  called  East.  Then  from  Chicago  he  would  draw 
upon  them  for  the  larger  sums,  and  from  there  also 
would  telegraph  the  Colonel  that  he  had  been  unex- 
pectedly called  away  on  a  big  deal,  and  would 
return  within  two  or  three  weeks.  Those  two  or 
three  weeks  would  give  him  time  to  get  away  to 
South  America,  or  Europe,  before  the  smash,  in 
case  the  Colonel  still  had  some  shred  of  faith  in 
him,  and  of  that  he  had  small  doubt.  He  knew  that 
the  Colonel  would  decline  to  believe  anything  ill  of 


276  THE  BOOMERS. 

him  until  he  had  been  given  a  chance  to  defend 
himself.  He  laughed  at  himself  for  these  precau- 
tions, for  quite  well  he  realized  that  he  had  done 
nothing  unlawful;  yet  he  had  the  craving  to  retain 
the  confidence  of  those  at  Port  Hatch  to  the  last 
possible  moment — that  confidence  he  found  himself 
loath  to  part  with. 

A  strange  indecision  mastered  him  as  he  turned 
out  to  visit  the  first  bank,  and,  at  the  very  doors  of 
the  big  granite  building  facing  Pioneer  Square,  he 
paused  irresolute.  No,  he  would  first  go  to  the 
Commercial  Bank,  where  he  had  so  long  cultivated 
the  friendship  of  William  Shoemaker,  the  cashier. 
He  could  "get  away  with  it"  better  there,  because 
they  believed  in  him.  Then,  at  the  doors  of  the 
Commercial,  he  thought  of  the  trust  granted  him 
by  that  same  clear-eyed  little  cashier,  and  hated  to 
betray  it.  Here  was  another  man  who  believed  in 
him.  Better  try  some  other  bank,  because  he  wanted 
Shoemaker  to  respect  him  as  long  as  possible.  He 
decided  to  leave  the  suit-case  at  a  cigar-stand,  and 
in  this  palace  of  nicotine  found  himself  compelled 
to  listen  to  a  conversation  between  two  old  Alaskan 
prospectors  telling  how  a  pair  of  partners  had  lost 
their  lives. 

"Everything  showed,"  one  of  them,  a  gray-haired 
and  long-bearded  old  man,  said  in  the  quiet  voice 
of  the  adventurer  in  the  silent  places;  "everything 
showed  that  Tim  could  have  saved  himself,  but  he 
wouldn't  go  and  leave  Miller  there  to  die  alone. 
We  found  where  he  had  trailed  out  trying  to  find 
a  cache  or  some  sort  of  help.  Then  the  trail  came 
back.      Tim   was   returning   to   Miller   to   die   with 


THE  BOOMERS.  277 

him,  and,  somehow,  I've  an  idea  he  must  have  known 
it.  God !  Think  of  it !  Going  back  to  die  rather 
than  feel  that  he  hadn't  stuck  to  the  end.  That 
was  playing  the  part  of  a  man.  It  looked  as  if 
Miller  had  died,  and  then  Tim  had  lashed  him  up  in  a 
tree,  and  started  out  alone;  but  he  couldn't  make 
it  by  that  time — was  too  weak.  So  we  found  him, 
and  read  his  story  there  in  the  still  snows  that 
hadn't  drifted  none  in  all  that  long  month.  That 
was  a  man !" 

For  a  full  minute,  Burmah  leaned  over,  staring 
at,  yet  without  seeing,  the  gay  bands  and  labels. 
His  fat  hands  rested  quietly,  and  without  a  tremor, 
on  the  scratched  glass  top  of  the  show-case.  Then 
his  eyes  suddenly  flared.  He  whirled  until  he  looked 
at  the  prospector,  and  scowled  at  him  fiercely,  as  if 
resenting  something,  and,  while  the  old  man  drew 
back,  perplexed,  Burmah  spoke  scarcely  above  a 
whisper : 

"Your  friend,  Tim,"  he  said,  with  unusual  slow- 
ness, "was  a  chump !  But — hell ! — he  was  a  man !" 
He  stooped  with  an  awkward,  abrupt  motion,  and 
picked  up  the  suit-case,  and  walked  out  to  the  pave- 
ment, with  lips  that  were  curiously  compressed,  and 
with  a  fearless  glare  in  his  eyes,  and,  strangely, 
his  short  figure  had  taken  on  a  dignity  of  its  own. 
He  walked  unwaveringly  back  through  the  long 
street,  and  turned  toward  the  waters  of  the  sound 
that  glistened  far  below.  Then  he  plunged  down- 
ward along  the  incline  and  out  past  the  railway 
station  to  the  wharf,  where  the  boat  that  had  brought 
him  to  Seattle  now  made  ready  to  depart  on  her 
upward   trip.      All   indecision   had   gone    from   his 


278  THE  BOOMERS. 

action  and  his  appearance.  He  held  his  head  high 
on  his  short  neck,  which  seemed  to  have  become  a 
stubborn  pillar,  unyielding  and  fixed.  His  hat  had 
lost  its  careless  angle,  and  his  hands  were  clenched, 
one  tightly  as  if  for  a  fight,  the  other  around  the 
leather  handle  of  his  suit-case.  Over  the  gang- 
plank so  recently  descended  in  irresolution,  he  strode 
firmly  back,  and  the  suit-case  he  tossed  carelessly 
ini»ide  the  smoking-room  door. 

"Going  back  so  soon.  Mister  Jones?"  asked  a 
friendly  deck-steward,  and  for  a  long  time  the  man 
wondered  why  Burmah  Jones  turned  and  smiled  at 
him,  slowly,  and  said: 

"Yes.     Goin'  back.     Goin'  back  to  be  a  man !" 

He  waited  for  the  boat  to  pull  out,  cursing  him- 
self for  ever  having  run  away,  but  giving  himself 
no  credit  for  having  come  out  on  top  in  the  moral 
battle  he  had  fought  with  himself.  His  air  was  that 
of  dogged  determination.  He  stood  leaning  on  the 
rail,  when  a  voice,  panting  as  if  from  exertion,  hailed 
him  from  the  dock's  edge,  and  he  looked  down  to 
find  Billings  waving  at  him. 

"Mister  Jones !  Mister  Jones !"  shouted  the  man- 
ager of  his  Seattle  office.  "I  was  about  to  come  to 
see  you  at  Port  Hatch  when  I  spotted  you  up  there 
on  the  deck.  Can't  you  stay  over  here  to-day  to 
talk  to  some  men  who  want  to  do  business  with  you 
personally?" 

For  an  instant,  Burmah  hesitated,  a  fact  that  did 
not  escape  the  eye  of  his  subordinate,  who  never 
before  had  seen  him  display  indecision. 

"What's  their  names?"  asked  Burmah,  cautiously. 

"I  don't  remember,"  said  Billings,  "but  they  said 


THE  BOOMERS.  279 

they  were  in  business  back  East  with  the  same  scheme 
that  Conover  and  his  crowd  worked  on,  and  they 
want  to  see  you." 

Burmah  caught  himself  faltering.  For  a  moment, 
he  had  been  inclined  to  dodge  the  possible  issue  of 
meeting  Thornton  and  Carleton.  Again  he  shut 
his  jaw  grimly,  and  mastered  temptation.  He  would 
meet  all  comers  after  this,  no  matter  what  happened, 
and,  if  the  men  who  wanted  to  see  him  were  those 
whom  in  another  portion  of  the  country  he  had 
mulcted,  the  sooner  he  confronted  them  the  better. 
Then  a  second's  thought  convinced  him  they  could 
not  be  the  men.  He  reclaimed  his  suit-case,  joined 
Billings,  and  took  a  cab  to  the  offices  of  the  Port 
Hatch  Company,  where  he  busied  himself  at  his 
desk  until  such  time  as  the  strangers  should  appear. 

They  came  late  in  the  afternoon,  three  more  of 
the  same  quiet  type  as  Conover,  and  Burmah  was 
relieved  to  discover  that  all  they  wanted  of  him 
was  to  buy  for  their  own  speculations  a  subdivision 
of  the  "City  Beautiful."  For  the  first  time  in  all 
his  big  deals,  he  was  unqualifiedly  honest  and 
straightforward. 

"I  want  to  tell  you  somethin'  before  we  start  in 
to  discuss  this  sale  at  all,"  he  said,  with  an  unusual 
repression,  "and  that  is,  that  we  do  not  sell  any 
land  with  the  promise,  or  anything  more  than  a 
hope,  that  the  railroad's  goin'  to  ever  come  there 
to  Port  Hatch." 

He  waited  and  watched  the  effect  of  his  speech, 
as  his  visitors  straightened  up  with  surprise,  and 
then  looked  at  one  another,  dumfounded.  He  was 
again  fighting  the  battle,  but  this  time  from  a  new 


280  THE  BOOMERS. 

angle.  If  he  neglected  to  make  a  sale  of  possible 
magnitude,  his  action  would  be  working  an  injustice 
to  the  Colonel,  and  he  smiled  sadly  at  the  thought 
that  without  doubt  at  the  very  moment  the  Colonel 
needed  money.  Tempation  was  now  upon  him  to 
go  ahead  and  with  all  his  old  time  vigor  to  close  this 
transaction,  and  turn  the  proceeds  over  to  the 
Colonel;  but  he  sternly  questioned  himself,  in  that 
flashing  instant,  whether  this  was  not  at  variance 
with  the  course  he  had  that  morning  set  for  himself. 
He  stiffened  a  trifle  around  the  jaws,  and  his  lips 
shut  in  harsh  lines. 

"But  we  have  been  led  to  understand  that  there 
was  never  any  question  of  the  railway's  decision," 
objected  the  spokesman  for  the  prospective  pur- 
chasers.    "Your  advertising  was  quite — " 

"Never  mind  the  advertisements,"  interrupted 
Burmah.  "There  are — "  he  faltered  a  little,  and 
his  visitor  took  up  the  thread. 

"A  change  of  conditions,  eh?" 

"As  you  see  it,"  replied  Burmah. 

"That's  too  bad!"  exclaimed  the  visitor.  "We 
came  with  our  minds  made  up  to  take  a  flyer — say 
— a  hundred  thousand  on  Port  Hatch;  but,  of 
course,  if  there  is  any  doubt — well,  you  understand." 

"Perfectly,"  said  Burmah,  wiping  the  moisture 
from  his  forehead.  His  voice  was  very  low  and 
restrained,  as  he  added:  "One  must  not  sell  land 
under  false  pretenses.  Ten  days  ago,  I'd  have  told 
you  it  was  a  cinch.  To-day,  I  tell  you  there  is  no 
certainty,  and  that,  if  you  size  it  up  that  you  want 
to  gamble  with  us,  we've  got  the  land  for  sale;  but 
that,  if  you  put  your  money  in  on  my  tellin'  you 


THE  BOOMERS.  281 

that  I  know  that  the  road's  comin'  to  Port  Hatch, 
the  deaPs  off!" 

His  visitors  looked  at  one  another  in  astonish- 
ment, and  then  their  spokesman  got  up,  and,  as  if 
this  were  understood  bj  his  partners  as  ending  the 
interview,  they  did  likewise.  He  suddenly  stepped 
around  the  end  of  the  desk,  and  held  his  hand  out 
to  Burmah. 

"We've  got  to  look  this  over  some  more.  Mister 
Jones,"  he  said,  "because  when  it  comes  to  a  gamble, 
that's  a  different  proposition.  We'll  let  you  know 
within  a  week  whether  we  want  to  bet  on  the  card 
that's  turned  down;  but  I  want  to  say  this,  and 
I  know  I'm  speaking  just  what  my  partners  feel, 
that  you  are  as  square  a  man  as  we've  ever  tried  to 
do  business  with,  and  we  want  to  thank  you  for 
giving  us  what  is  unquestionably  straight  informa- 
tion. We  would  have  closed  with  you  within  forty- 
eight  hours,  if  you  had  said  that  you  knew  that 
the  road  was  coming.  And  we  want  to  thank  you, 
and  say  that  we  don't  believe  a  man  who  can  do 
as  you  have  done  ever  loses  in  the  long  run!" 

He  turned  and  walked  out,  after  bowing  punctili- 
ously, and  at  the  door  said: 

"Within  a  week,  Mister  Jones — within  a  week." 

The  door  closed  after  them,  and  Burmah  dropped 
into  his  chair,  dejected,  and  scowling  savagely  at 
himself  in  the  little  mirror  backing  a  fancy  inkstand 
that  had  been  given  him  by  Billy.  The  old  cynical 
smile  crept  back  to  his  lips,  the  old  hard  look  to 
his  eyes. 

"It's  the  stuff,"  he  muttered,  savagely,  "that's 
passed  out  by  preachers  and  soft  guys.     It'll  get 


282  THE  BOOMERS. 

you  no  money,  Old  Man,  and  you  are  gettin'  old. 
It'll  send  you  to  the  hulks  with  the  dead  wood,  when 
you're  done.  It'll  put  you  in  the  potter's  field  after 
you're  gone." 

He  paused  for  a  moment  and  then  his  face  took 
on  a  different,  a  more  noble  look,  and  he  slapped 
his  open  palm  on  his  desk  as  he  said,  aloud: 

"But,  by  God!  it'll  give  you  at  least  one  hack 
full  of  mourners  when  the  game's  ended,  and  some- 
body'll  see  that  flowers  grow  on  your  three-by-six !" 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  office  force  and  the 
matter-of-fact  Billings,  he  whistled  softly  as  he 
marched  out  of  his  private  office  on  his  departure 
for  the  hotel,  and  there  rang  a  new  note  in  that 
whistling  of  an  old-time  popular  air  that  caught  the 
ear.  It  echoed  with  a  vague  cadence  out  into  the 
street  where  men  hurried  backward  and  forward  in 
the  busy  city  devoted  to  the  god  of  wealth.  It 
flaunted  itself  defiantly  above  the  clamor  of  the 
street-cars.  It  dwelt  in  the  memory  of  those  who 
heard  it  and  had  forgotten  its  strains.  It  was  the 
new  marching  tune  of  Burmah  Jones — fat  little 
crook,  pathetic  in  his  isolation  of  conscience,  and 
now  turning  into  an  unaccustomed  road,  undaunted. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  DREAMER  UPSETS  EVERYTHING. 

The  office  door  of  the  Port  Hatch  Land  Company, 
in  Seattle,  flew  open  with  a  bang,  and  through  it 
rushed  Colonel  Hatch,   excited   and   anxious. 

"Good-afternoon,  Mister  Billings,"  he  called  to  the 
manager,  who  arose  from  his  chair  with  an  air  of 
having  been  disturbed  in  the  midst  of  some  pro- 
found problem.  And  then,  without  waiting  for  a 
return  of  his  greeting,  the  Colonel  asked:  "Where 
on  earth  is  Mister  Jones?  I've  been  looking  for  him, 
and  do  you  know.  Sir,  it's  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  I  have  a  conference  with  him  before  three 
o'clock  this  afternoon?" 

Billings  looked  distressed  and  wagged  his  head. 

"There  are  two  reasons  why  I'm  afraid  that  is 
impossible.  Colonel,"  he  answered;  "one  being  that 
it's  now  a  quarter-past  three,  and  the  other  that 
Mister  Jones  took  the  boat  to  Port  Hatch  at  one, 
thirty." 

"Well  dog-gone  my  cats !"  exclaimed  the  Colonel, 
bursting  into  a  vernacular  oath  of  his  native  country. 
"Then  we  must  have  passed  him  on  the  way  up." 

"I'm  afraid  that's  true,"  said  Billings,  still  won- 
dering what  could  be  the  cause  of  the  Colonel's  per- 
turbation. "And  I'm  afraid  that,  if  time  is  essen- 
tial, he  cannot  be  here  before  to-morrow  evening,  be- 
cause the  last  boat  for  to-day  has  gone,  and  a  letter 
would  not  reach  him  before  to-morrow  afternoon.  On 
thinking  it  over,  I  doubt  if  he  could  be  back  here 

283 


284  THE  BOOMERS. 

before  day  after  to-morrow,  without  hiring  a  special 
boat." 

The  Colonel  looked  like  a  boy  that  had  unex- 
pectedly lost  his  parental  protector  in  a  crowd. 
He  shifted  from  one  foot  to  the  other,  took  off  his 
hat,  ran  his  fingers  through  his  profuse  white  hair, 
and  tugged  at  his  goatee. 

"Is  there  anything  I  can  do,  Colonel.''"  asked 
Billings,  in  his  calm,  methodical  manner,  and  voiced 
the  question  in  the  same  pitch  that  he  would  have 
used  had  he  asked  if  the  weather  were  satisfactory. 

The  Colonel  brightened,  looked  at  Billings  as  if 
about  to  ask  him  his  advice,  then  shook  his  head. 

"No,  Sir,  Mister  Billings,"  he  said,  "a  man  must 
fight  his  own  battles.  As  the  great  Mr.  Rothschild 
said  in  one  of  his  remarkable  sayings,  'There  comes 
a  time  when  a  man  must  make  his  own  decisions.' 
I'm  afraid  I'll  have  to  do  without  Mister  Jones.  But, 
by  Cracky!  I  wish  he  was  here!" 

He  went  hesitatingly  out  of  the  door,  and  Billings, 
turning  back  to  some  columns  of  figures,  smiled 
satirically,  wondering  whether  Colonel  Hatch  could 
ever  do  anything  without  the  advice  of  Burmah 
Jones,  and,  if  he  did,  what  the  newest  spendthrift 
phase  would  be.  Colonel  Hatch  stopped  to  adjust 
his  cravat  in  the  hall-way,  to  pass  the  time  of  day 
with  a  boot-black,  to  give  a  dollar  to  a  beggar  who 
had  asked  for  a  dime,  and  then  passed  thoughtfully 
toward  the  largest  hotel  in  Seattle.  He  mounted  the 
steps,  handed  the  clerk  his  card,  and  was  respect- 
fully greeted. 

"I  wish  to  see  Mister  Thornton,  or  Mister 
Carleton,"  he  said.    "By  appointment.  Sir." 


THE  BOOMERS.  285 

The  bell-boy  took  the  card,  and  disappeared;  and 
the  Colonel  came  near  to  forgetting  his  errand  while 
staring  through  his  glasses  at  a  picture  in  the  hall- 
way that  particularly  pleased  him,  which  at  the 
same  time  suggested  that  Port  Hatch  should  have 
an  art-gallery  for  the  education  of  the  young  before 
it  could  be  classed  as  a  thoroughly  up-to-date  city. 
His  self-confidence  had  already  led  him  to  forget 
the  desire  for  a  consultation  with  Burmah,  and  he 
was  placidly  waiting  for  his  call  when  the  bell-boy 
came  to  him,  and  said  that  the  gentlemen  would  see 
him  at  once.  He  followed  the  boy  to  the  elevator, 
doffed  his  hat,  and  bowed  punctiliously  to  an  elderly 
matron  who  was  waiting  in  the  car,  and  told  her 
that  it  was  a  fine  day,  as  they  slipped  swiftly  and 
silently  upward.  Into  what  appeared  to  be  the 
private  reception-room  of  a  splendid  suite  the  boy 
conducted  him,  and,  while  he  waited,  he  looked  out 
of  the  window  at  the  city  beneath  him,  and  the  mar- 
velous panorama  that  stretched  away  in  the  dis- 
tance— a  panorama  he  had  come  to  love  as  being 
neighbor  to  his  own  unsurpassed  in  the  world.  The 
inner  door  opened,  and  Carleton,  well  groomed, 
square-jawed,  and  precise,  approached  him. 

"You  are  Colonel  Hatch,  I  take  it,"  he  said,  hold- 
ing out  his  hand.    "I'm  Mister  Carleton." 

"Very  glad  to  have  the  honor,  Sir,"  the  Colonel 
asserted  with  great  gallantry. 

"As  I  wrote  you,  Colonel,"  Carleton  said,  in  his 
precise,  business-like  way,  "we  are  on  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Atlantic  &  Oriental  Railway,  and 
we  are  out  here  on  the  Coast  to  make  our  final  deci- 
sion as  to  what  shall  be  the  terminus  of  the  road." 


286  THE  BOOMERS. 

"I  gathered  as  much  as  that,"  said  the  Colonel, 
imperturbably ;  "but,  for  the  life  of  me.  Sir,  I  can't 
see  why  there  should  be  the  slightest  question  on 
that  point.  Port  Hatch,  of  course.  Sir.  She  is  the 
most  beautiful  city  in  the  world.  She  has  the  most 
unrivaled  port  of  entry,  with  natural  facilities  that 
cannot  be  obtained  by  any  other  harbor  on  the 
Pacific.     She  is — " 

"Excuse  me.  Colonel,"  blandly  interrupted  Carle- 
ton;  "but  I  think  it  best  that  you  should  explain 
its  advantages  to  the  full  Board,  and  particularly^ 
to  our  chairman,  Mister  Thornton.  Won't  you  please 
come  inside?" 

He  turned  and  bowed  deferentially  as  he  opened 
a  door,  and  stood  back  as  the  Colonel  preceded 
him  into  the  room.  As  he  was  being  announced, 
the  Colonel  caught  it  all  at  a  glance.  The  after- 
noon sun  filtered  through  the  big  windows  on  as 
model  a  directors'  room  as  could  be  obtained  in  any 
hotel,  and  around  a  long  and  polished  table  were 
seated  a  dozen  men  of  that  type  which  he  had  always 
associated  with  financial  power — clean-cut,  serious 
men,  some  of  whom  had  sharp  eyes  that  bored  him 
through  and  appeared  on  the  defensive,  others  that 
were  merely  speculative,  and  some  that  with  an  icy 
blankness  masked  cruelty  of  mind.  He  passed  from 
man  to  man  as  he  was  introduced,  and  shook  hands 
with  each,  regardless  of  the  attitude  of  defensive- 
ness  that  all  assumed.  It  was  the  Chairman  who 
put  the  cause  of  the  conference  succinctly  before 
him,  as  if  time  were  too  important  to  be  wasted 
on  courtesy,  and  the  Colonel,  somewhat  bewildered 
by  all  this  haste,  listened  as  Thornton  talked. 


THE  BOOMERS.  287 

"Colonel  Hatch,"  he  said,  after  the  Colonel  had 
seated  himself,  "as  you  doubtless  know,  it  is  an  as- 
sured fact  that  the  A.  and  O.  wants  to  make  terms  for 
its  tide-water  end;  there  is  no  use  in  discussing 
that  part  of  it.  We  have  preliminary  surveys  to 
Seattle  that  have  been  on  file  for  some  years;  but 
we  are  not  certain  that  it  would  not  prove  more 
profitable  for  us  to  make  Port  Hatch,  on  account 
of  its  nearer  location  to  the  mouth  of  the  sound, 
our  main  terminus,  and  extend  the  line  to  Seattle 
merely  as  a  business-getter." 

The  Colonel  smiled  and  nodded  with  elation.  He 
glowed  with  friendship  for  the  man  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  whose  face  was  as  immobile  as  a  face  could 
be,  and  whose  close-cropped  mustache  did  not  con- 
ceal a  mouth  that  was  as  unfeeling  and  firm  as 
a  Red  Indian's. 

"We  have  felt  out  the  cost  of  right  of  way  to 
Seattle,  and  know  about  what  we  could  do  along 
that  line.  We  have  not  such  assurances  along  the  line 
to  Port  Hatch  and  that  would  entail  some  additional 
expense."  He  paused  for  a  moment  for  this  to 
sink  in. 

But  the  Colonel  was  not  one  to  think  of  expense 
in  connection  with   anything. 

"But,  Sir,  I'm  right  sure  that  if  you  ever  visited 
Port  Hatch,  there  is  no  possible  expense  that  would 
deter  you  from  running  the  road  there,"  he  ven- 
tured, feeling  the  necessity  of  saying  something. 

"We  have  already  visited  your  city,"  drily 
answered  Thornton,  "and  have  made  all  the  neces- 
sary inquiries  as  to  the  advantages  of  its  location." 

"Then,  of  course,  it's  all  decided!"  the  Colonel 


288  THE  BOOMERS. 

almost  shouted.  "Gentlemen,  I  congratulate  you- 
all  on  your  excellence  of  judgment.  As  I  have  often 
said—" 

"But  we  haven't  finally  decided,"  interrupted  the 
Chairman  of  the  Board.  "In  fact,  we  requested 
this  interview  to  see  what  inducements  Port  Hatch 
would  make  us  to  name  it  our  main  terminal  point." 

The  Colonel's  jaw  dropped,  and  a  look  of  anxiety 
crept  over  his  face.  He  straightened  himself  a  little 
more  erect,  and  settled  his  feet  on  the  floor.  It  did 
not  seem  possible  that  there  had  ever  been  any  doubt 
as  to  Port  Hatch  being  the  place  selected.  If  so, 
Burmah  had  been  deceived;  but  this  was  a  time 
for  caution,  and  so  he  would  say  nothing  to  cause 
a  rupture  of  negotiations. 

"Mister  Thornton,"  he  said,  in  his  soft  drawl, 
"Port  Hatch  means  a  mighty  lot  to  me,  and  I  reckon 
I  mean  a  mighty  lot  to  it.  In  fact,  Sir,  I  think 
I  would  be  enabled  to  talk  for  my  town,  if  I  knew 
exactly  what  you  mean  by  inducements." 

Thornton  consulted  some  slips  of  paper  on  the 
table  before  him,  and  then,  apparently  not  finding 
the  one  he  sought,  turned  to  Carleton. 

"Charley,"  he  asked,  "have  you  those  memoranda 
we  made?" 

Carleton  looked  through  some  slips  in  front  of 
him,  as  did  two  of  the  other  Directors,  and  then  the 
missing  piece  of  paper  was  passed  along  to  the 
head  of  the  table.  Thornton  clasped  his  glasses  on 
his  nose,  and  perused  the  memoranda  with  aggra- 
vating slowness  before  he  turned  to  the  Colonel,  who 
was  expectantly  waiting. 


THE  BOOMERS.  289 

"I  believe  Port  Hatch  owns  its  own  water-works 
and  electric  light-system,  doesn't  it?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  Sir,  she  does,"  proudly  replied  the  Colonel. 

"Has  the  city  given  out  any  street-car  franchises.?^" 

"No,  Sir.  It  hasn't,"  the  Colonel  replied,  won- 
dering innocently  what  bearing  that  could  have  on 
the  Atlantic  &  Oriental. 

"Now  about  its  water-front  land.'"'  calmly  con- 
tinued Thornton,  making  a  note.  "Does  that,  also, 
belong  to  the  city,?" 

"No,  Sir,"  replied  the  Colonel,  eagerly,  "most  of 
that  belongs  to  me." 

"And  that  big  flat  up  toward  the  head  of  the 
bay — is  that  yours,  also.'^"  Thornton  went  on  in 
the  same  incisive  categorical  manner,  as  if  check- 
ing an  inventory. 

"Most  of  that's  mine,  too,"  the  Colonel  hastened 
to  answer. 

"And  you  own  considerable  more  land  back  of 
the  city,  don't  you,  Colonel.?"  Thornton  pursued, 
although  the  Colonel  could  scarcely  understand 
why. 

"All  of  it,"  said  the  Colonel,  with  a  certain  buoy- 
ant inflection  of  pride. 

"Then,"  interjected  Carleton,  "you  would  be  the 
one  to  profit  the  most  by  the  rise  in  land-values  if 
the  railway  did  come  there,  wouldn't  you.?" 

The  Colonel,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Board, 
looked  at  the  ceiling  and  stroked  his  goatee. 

"Yes,  Sir,"  he  said,  slowly,  "I  reckon  I  would. 
But,  you  see,  that's  a  feature  of  Port  Hatch  that 
I've  never  thought  over  very  much.  A  gentleman 
engaged  in  creating  the  most  beautiful  and  model 


290  THE  BOOMERS. 

city  in  the  world  hasn't  got  time,  Sir,  to  think  very 
much  about  sordid  details  like  that." 

The  members  of  the  Board  looked  at  one  another, 
and  at  him,  solicitously,  wondering  if  he  were  quite 
mentally  competent.  This  fine  old  gentleman  must 
be  either  insane,  or  else  he  was  of  an  entirely  new 
type  as  compared  with  any  they  had  hitherto  met 
in  the  course  of  their  extended  negotiations.  Most 
of  those  they  had  interviewed  thought  only  in  dol- 
lars. They  themselves,  whose  lives  were  devoted 
to  capturing  other  men's  money  with  the  furious 
energy  of  hogs  grubbing  for  roots,  could  not  compre- 
hend the  dreamer. 

"Well,  Colonel  Hatch,"  said  Thornton,  drily,  "it 
seems  certain  that  we  are  discussing  the  question 
with  the  right  man.  This  railway  will  go  either  to 
Seattle  or  Port  Hatch,  and  it  will  go  where  it  thinks 
it  can  gain  the  most." 

"What  has  Seattle  offered.?"  demanded  the  Col- 
onel, anxiously,  as  if  about  to  bid  against  its  high- 
est mark. 

"Candidly  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  answer  that," 
said  Thornton,  firmly.  "But  we  have  been  in  com- 
munication with  its  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  some 
months." 

"Would  it  give  you  all  the  ground  you  want  for 
switch-yards,  or  whatever  you  call  them.^"'  demanded 
the  Colonel,  rising  to  the  occasion. 

He  might  have  been  warned  by  the  gleam  in 
Thornton's  eyes,  and  the  pleasantly  rapacious  look 
exchanged  by  other  members  of  the  group  of  Direc- 
tors, but  was  not,  so  plunged  ahead. 

"I'll  give  you,  for  nothing,  all  the  land  you  want 


THE  BOOMERS.  291 

for  your  yards  up  there  at  the  head  of  the  bay," 
the  Colonel  announced,  soberly.  "A  pretty  good 
offer.  Gentlemen?" 

He  smiled  round  importantly,  and  was  surprised 
to  see  that  no  one  else  appeared  to  regard  this 
as  a  final  and  deciding  inducement  in  favor  of  Port 
Hatch.  Indeed,  there  seemed  to  be  some  inexplic- 
able and  perhaps  confused  undercurrent  of  thought 
running  through  the  room,  and  this  was  made  more 
definite  when  Thornton  calmly  took  off  his  glasses, 
and  hesitated  as  if  for  the  idea  to  crystallize.  He 
spoke  at  last,  and  when  he  did  the  Colonel  was  much 
taken  back.     He  had  expected  an  explicit  yes. 

*'It  seems  to  me,  Colonel,"  he  said,  "that  we  might 
save  time  if  I  were  allowed  a  further  conference 
with  my  fellow  Board-members.  Would  you  mind 
waiting  a  few  moments,  in  the  reception-room,  until 
— until  we  can  get  our  heads  together,  as  the  say- 
ing is.^" 

For  an  instant,  the  Colonel  was  rather  indignant 
at  this  request.  It  savored  of  a  lack  of  confidence 
in  him.  It  sounded  almost  like  a  dismissal;  but, 
remembering  that  the  ways  of  the  great  are  as  dark 
and  vain  as  those  of  the  fabled  "Chinee",  he  as- 
sented,  and   said,   "Certainly,    Sir!" 

He  bowed  with  grave  courtesy,  and  stepped  out 
into  the  other  room,  closing  the  door  after  him. 
This  time,  as  he  waited,  he  did  not  stare  out  appre- 
ciatively at  the  sound,  but  walked  restlessly  to  and 
fro  in  the  deeply  carpeted  room,  his  hands  beneath 
his  coat-tails,  and  a  frown  of  worry  distorting  his 
bushy  white  eyebrows.  For  the  first  time,  a  fear 
began   to   creep   through   his   mind,   that   perhaps, 


292  THE  BOOMERS. 

after  all,  the  railway  would  select  Seattle.  Up  to 
that  hour  he  had  deemed  this  absurdity  not  to  be 
seriously  considered.  How  any  sane  group  of  men 
could  choose  Seattle,  great  metropolis  though  it 
was,  in  preference  to  his  beloved  Port  Hatch,  was 
completely  beyond  his  understanding.  He  had  so 
often  heard  Burmah  declaim  the  advantages  of  that 
beautiful  little  city  which  now  seemed  so  far  away 
— its  proximity  to  the  ocean,  its  deep  and  sheltered 
bay,  its  natural  resources,  all  waiting  for  develop- 
ment. And  yet  those  men  were  undoubtedly  waver- 
ing, and,  moreover,  they  did  not  appear  so  very 
eager  to  decide  upon  Port  Hatch  as  their  Mecca. 

The  Colonel  suddenly  suffered  a  chill  apprehension, 
and  was  harried  by  a  sense  of  desperate  helpless- 
ness to  cope  with  this  situation.  He  felt  inadequate, 
and  wished,  most  fervently,  that  Burmah  were  there 
to  assist  him  with  sage  council  and  a  smart  grasp 
of  difficult  situations.  But  Burmah  was  not  there, 
and  any  delay  might  prove  fatal  to  Port  Hatch, 
so  he  must  do  the  best  that  was  in  him.  He  straight- 
ened himself,  wished  that  he  were  younger  and  en- 
dowed with  the  fighting  vigor  that  had  been  his 
thirty  years  before,  and  waited  impatiently  for  the 
door  to  open.  He  did  not  know  that  behind  it,  at 
that  very  moment,  the  Board  of  Directors  was 
chuckling,  or  laughing  quietly  over  the  possibility 
of  getting  about  everything  that  Port  Hatch  had 
to  give,  because  it  was  palpably  dealing  with  a 
business  weakling. 

"Seattle  is  too  big  to  offer  us  very  much,"  de- 
clared one  man.  "We'd  get  its  share  of  the  business, 
anyvray,  by  a  branch  down  here." 


THE  BOOMERS.  293 

"Yes,"  assented  Carleton,  again  referring  to  a 
file  of  letters  before  him,  "all  they  offer  is  a  right 
of  way  into  the  Union  Passenger  Station,  and  sug- 
gest that  they  can  assist  us  in  purchasing  ground 
for  yards  away  up  on  the  made  land." 

"But  Seattle  is  already  a  highly  important  city," 
objected  another,  "and  we  can't  afford  to  ignore 
It!" 

"We  don't,"  retorted  Thornton.  "It's  big 
enough  to  ignore  us.  We,  therefore,  build  up  a 
city  of  our  own  at  much  less  cost  and  more  profit, 
if  we  make  this  Port  Hatch  our  ocean  terminal." 

For  a  full  ten  minutes  they  conferred  over  what 
they  should  ask,  and  then  Carleton  again  stepped 
to  the  door,  and  invited  the  Colonel,  who  was  in 
a  nervous  state  bordering  on  the  fidgets,  into  the 
room.  The  Colonel  took  the  chair  that  was  tendered, 
and  once  more  Thornton  adjusted  his  glasses,  and 
coolly  read  from  a  slip  of  paper. 

"Would  you  consider  this  proposition.  Colonel?" 
he  asked,  suavely.  "First,  that  we  get,  free  of  cost, 
such  lands  as  we  deem  necessary  for  switch-yards 
of  the  magnitude  that  a  great  Transcontinental 
line  would  require." 

The  Colonel  was  about  to  say  yes,  but  the  Chair- 
man continued  before  he  had  a  chance. 

"Second,  that  we  get  all  the  water-front  neces- 
sary for  docks  of  reasonable  size  for  such  an  enter- 
prise, also  free  of  cost  to  us. 

"Third,  that  we  be  given  the  exclusive  right  of 
franchise  for  all  street-railways. 

"Fourth,   that   we   be   given,   in   perpetuity,   free 


294  THE  BOOMERS. 

use  of  water  from  the  city's  supply,  and  that  the 
city  furnish,  free,  electric  lights  for  our  yards. 

"And  fifth,  that  the  City  of  Port  Hatch  build 
for  us  a  model  railway  station  that  shall  cost  not 
less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I  think 
that  is  all,"  he  concluded,  looking  at  the  Colonel, 
whose  hands  had  tightened  themselves  over  the  arms 
of  his  chair  until  the  skin  covering  his  knuckles 
was  drawn  white,  like  parchment. 

The  Colonel's  spirits  had  descended  as  each  de- 
mand was  made.  Certainly  he  would  let  them  have 
the  ground  for  the  yards,  valuable  though  it  was, 
because  there  was  lots  of  land  left  back  up  on  the 
mountain  side.  Then  the  ground  for  the  docks,  the 
most  valuable  in  Port  Hatch,  was  easy  to  deed 
away,  and  would  be  gladly  given.  Thus  far  the 
demand  could  be  met;  but  street-railway  franchises 
— well,  he  wasn't  so  certain  about  that.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  Burmah  had  once  said  they  might  some 
day  be  worth  a  great  deal,  and,  moreover,  he  didn't 
think  Hubbard  would  approve  of  a  street-car  line 
down  Main  Street.  But  he  supposed  that,  too, 
would  have  to  go,  although  given  reluctantly  under 
pressure.  Then  came  the  terrifying  demand  that 
a  station  be  built  to  cost  not  less  than  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars !  Where  on  earth  could  he  get 
such  a  sum  as  that.?  He  was  sorry  now  that  he 
had  so  freely  spent  all  the  thousands  that  had  come 
so  easily,  from  where  only  Burmah  knew. 

As  he  sat  staring  at  a  figure  in  the  carpet,  with 
the  members  of  the  Board  watching  him  in  greedy, 
expectant  silence,  he  knew  that  he  could  promise 
all  things,   but  that  Burmah  would   have   to   show 


THE  BOOMERS.  295 

him  the  way.  And,  if  Burmah  could  not,  then 
he,  Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch,  would  have 
promised  something  that  he  could  not  give,  an  im- 
possible occurrence  in  his  code  of  conduct.  With- 
out Burmah's  advice  and  assistance,  he  dared  not 
risk  giving  such  a  covenant.  And,  worst  of  all, 
he  thought,  in  his  ignorance,  these  men  sitting  there 
in  the  room  might,  in  the  meantime,  render  a  deci- 
sion in  favor  of  Seattle.  It  was  all  very  distressing ; 
but  he  unfalteringly  faced  the  issue. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  dare  not  say  yes  to  all 
your  proposals,  although  I  would  if  I  were  the  only 
one  on  whom  everything  depended;  but  I'm  not. 
I've  got  to  have  time  to  consult  with  my  assistant 
— yes,  he's  more  than  that.  Gentlemen — my  partner, 
Mister  Burmah  Jones." 

There  was  some  expression  akin  to  supplication 
in  his  eyes  as  he  spoke,  some  look  entreating  them 
to  give  him  the  benefit  of  time  for  seeking  Burmah; 
but  to  three  members  of  the  Board  his  speech  was 
like  the  application  of  a  match  to  a  fuse. 

"What.?  What's  that.?"  demanded  Thornton, 
savagely. 

"Jones.?  William  Burmah  Jones.?  He's  out 
here,  and  mixed  up  in  this  Port  Hatch.?"  shouted 
Carleton.  And  the  third  man  lost  his  veneer  of 
polish,  swore  steadily,  and  banged  his  fist  on  the 
table  in  front  of  him. 

The  Colonel,  as  astonished  as  if  someone  had 
thrown  a  bomb  into  the  room,  blinked  his  fine  old 
eyes  rapidly,  and  leaned  forward  in  his  chair, 
wondering  what  could  have  happened  to  disturb  the 
serenity  of  the  meeting,  and  looked  anxiously  from 


296  THE  BOOMERS. 

one  man  to  another,  selecting  the  one  that  might 
explain  this  change  from  plain  friendliness  to  open 
hostility. 

"Do  you  happen  to  know,  Colonel  Hatch,"  crisply 
asked  Thornton,  "whether  this  man,  Jones,  of  whom 
you  speak  was  ever  in  Fort  Scott,  Kansas?" 

"Why,  yes,  Sir !  He  came  from  there  to  Seattle," 
blandly  responded  the  Colonel,  opening  his  eyes  a 
trifle  wider. 

"I  told  you  that  was  where  I  last  heard  of  him," 
triumphantly  asserted  Thornton,  pointing  an  index 
finger  across  the  corner  of  the  table  at  Carleton ;  and 
the  latter  nodded  angrily. 

"Then  what  I  want  to  say  to  you.  Colonel  Hatch," 
shouted  Thornton,  furiously,  turning  on  the  be- 
wildered and  hapless  Colonel,  and  shaking  a  threaten* 
ing  hand,  "is  that  we'll  have  nothing  to  do  with  your 
man,  Jones,  or  anything  that  he  has  a  hand  in.  He's 
a  damned  dirty  crook!  A  con'  man!  and  any  man 
who  mixes  up  with  him,  knowingly,  is  no  better. 
And—" 

He  came  to  an  abrupt  pause,  for  the  Colonel  had 
lifted  himself  from  his  chair,  and  thrown  forward 
fore-arm  and  hand,  and  his  fingers,  white  and  fine, 
were  distended  in  a  gesture. 

"Stop!"  he  thundered,  his  vgice  redolent  with 
command  and  indignation.     "Stop!     I  say,  stop!" 

He  paused  for  an  instant,  and  Thornton,  who  was 
nearest,  drew  back,  and  half-lifted  an  arm  as  if  to 
shield  his  face  from  an  impending  blow,  while  Carle- 
ton,  thrust  his  chair  backward,  and  stood  up,  pre- 
pared to  meet  physical  violence.  All  around  the 
table  men  were  rising  to  their  feet,  and  edging  away 


THE  BOOMERS.  297 

from  this  figure  of  indignation,  which  stood  there 
quivering,  tense  and  commanding,  like  a  warrior  who 
had  stepped  out  of  the  past  ages  to  the  defense  of 
the  calumniated.  The  rustle  of  chairs  across  rugs, 
and  of  garments  swayed  by  movement,  died  away 
into  silence,  and  that  flashing  second  of  waiting 
seemed  prolonged  into  a  minute.  The  metallic 
clang  of  the  elevator  in  the  corridor  outside  came 
through  the  heavy  doors  with  the  full  effect  of  an 
artillery  explosion  from  fields  over  which  this  gallant 
old  man  had  fought  in  the  far-gone  years.  He 
seemed  to  tower  above  them,  a  dominant  figure  of 
wrath,  with  a  shadowy  saber  in  hand,  as  he  led  the 
charge  in  defense  of  an  absent  friend,  regardless  of 
the  merits  of  his  cause.  His  eyes  were  mere  pieces 
of  blazing  steel,  hot  from  the  furnace,  glowing  so 
rapidly  from  cold  scorn  to  fiery  danger  that  the 
light  seemed  to  play  across  them.  He  had  stiffened 
so  erect  that  he  appeared  taller,  and  potence  was 
there,  tensed  to  act  as  decision  might  declare.  His 
jaws  were  shut  until  the  muscles  of  his  lean  cheeks 
were  harsh  knots  beneath  the  white  skin.  When  he 
spoke,  there  was  in  his  tone  an  infinite  dignity,  a 
profound  contempt  and  fixed  resolution,  and  each 
word  seemed  separate,  and  shorn  of  inflection. 

"I  ain't  goin'  to  call  you  'Gentlemen,'  "  he  drawled, 
in  a  voice  that,  despite  its  carrying  quality,  was 
scarcely  above  a  whisper,  and  in  words  that  reverted 
to  the  vernacular  of  Tennessee,  "because  you-all 
ain't  worth  that  name.  You're  the  kind  that  cuss 
a  man  out  when  he  ain't  around  to  defend  himself! 
But  I'm  goin'  to  tell  you  that  you're  talkin'  about 
my  friend!" 


298  THE  BOOMERS. 

He  paused,  and  his  eyes  swept  from  one  to  another 
as  if  in  challenge,  or  seeking  one  who  dared  take  upon 
himself  the  gauntlet  so  bravely  cast  into  the  lists. 
There  was  pride  in  his  claim  upon  friendship,  and 
a  desire  to  meet  the  direct  traducer  of  it. 

"I  repeat  it,"  he  said  in  a  louder  and  more  deadly 
voice,  firm  and  uncompromising,  "that  Mister  William 
Burmah  Jones  is  my  friend!  Now! — first,  last  and 
always  !  And  I'll  say  more,  that  either  he  or  I  would 
kill  the  man  that  dared  to  call  him  the  names  that 
you-all  have  called  him,  if  we  were  where  we  could 
have  the  chance  to  which  a  gentleman  is  entitled. 
There  wasn't  one  of  you  that  invited  him  here  to 
say  them  to  his  face.  You  didn't  send  for  him! 
You  sent  for  me,  and  you-all  thought  I'd  submit  to 
it,  didn't  you?  We  don't  do  things  like  that  in 
Tennessee,  thank  God!  Maybe  they  do  where  you- 
all  come  from ;  so  I'm  glad  I  never  was  there !" 

Again  he  waited,  while  Thornton's  face  grew  redder 
as  his  anger  increased.  Carleton  wet  dry  lips  at 
such  an  unaccustomed  arraignment  of  a  financier, 
and  two  or  three  others  scowled  at  such  an  excoria- 
tion. The  Colonel  suddenly  snapped  his  fingers  at 
them,  and  backed  toward  the  door.  One  hand  crept 
round  and  seized  the  knob,  and  the  other  clenched 
itself  in  fury,  and  shook  itself  belligerently  in  the 
air. 

"Port  Hatch,"  he  roared,  for  the  first  time  lifting 
his  voice  to  one  of  unleashed  anger,  "needed  your 
railway !  You  needed  Port  Hatch !  But  I'd  rather 
let  Port  Hatch  go  back  to  a  desert  with  wild  hounds 
howling  through  her  streets,  and  the  timbers  of  her 
docks  rotting  away  into  the  sound,  than  to  do  busi- 


'You're  the  kind  that  cuss  a  man  out  when  he  ain't  around  to 
defend  himself." 


THE  BOOMERS.  299 

ness  with  such  as  you !  I'd  rather  see  her  last  inhabi- 
tant drop  unburied  on  her  splendid  hills  than  to 
depend  for  his  funeral  on  a  set  of  scoundrels  and 
blackguards.  It  may  hurt  her;  but  you  and  your 
railway  can  go  plumb  to  hell !" 

He  opened  the  door  and  backed  out  into  the  hall; 
but,  before  they  could  recover  from  their  surprise, 
he  once  more  confronted  them. 

"Pardon  me !"  he  said,  with  something  of  his  habit- 
ual polish,  so  different  from  his  recent  explosion. 
"A  moment  ago,  I  said  you  could  all  go  to  hell! 
I'd  rather  you  didn't.  There's  a  bare  chance  I'll 
go  there,  sometime,  myself,  and  I  don't  want  to  meet 
any  of  you.     Go  to  some  other  place.     Good-day!" 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

MUCH    TO    THE    REFORMED    KNAVe's    DISTRESS. 

BuRMAH  Jones,  sitting  in  pajamas  at  the  window 
of  his  apartment  in  Port  Hatch,  and  thinking,  heard 
the  boy  who  delivered  the  morning  paper  from 
Seattle  clap  down  the  lid  of  the  tin  mail-box,  and 
drowsily  wondered  whether  it  was  worth  while  to  go 
down  and  learn  the  latest  news  from  the  outside  world. 
Across  Main  Street  the  shutter  from  a  window  was 
being  removed  by  the  elder  Todd  as  if  to  make  sure 
that  he  would  be  the  first  to  effect  a  sale  that  day. 
In  the  balcony  over  the  way  the  old  widow  was  pains- 
takingly dripping  water  upon  the  profusion  of  nas- 
turtiums in  the  flower-box,  and  from  the  distance  came 
the  dull  swish  of  the  street-sweeper  as  it  cleared  the 
smooth  pavement  of  refuse  left  by  night  prowlers. 
The  milkman  had  made  his  rounds  and  was  return- 
ing, singing  to  the  accompaniment  of  empty,  jostled 
cans,  and  the  clattering  of  his  horses'  hoofs.  Bur- 
mah  gave  a  deep  sigh  of  contentment,  and  thought  of 
his  momentary  weakness,  of  his  fearful  return,  and 
of  the  strange  fact  that  neither  Carleton,  Sprague 
nor  Thornton  had  said  anything  at  all  of  their 
knowledge  of  one  Burmah  Jones,  and  that  the 
residents  of  Port  Hatch  had  exhibited  not  the 
slightest  change  toward  him.  He  wondered  what 
new  freak  the  Colonel  would  develop  as  the  result  of 
his  latest  trip  to  Seattle,  for  he  had  learned  on  his 
arrival  that  the  Colonel  had  gone  forth,  jubilantly, 

300 


THE  BOOMERS.  801 

and  with  a  strange  air  of  mystery,  on  the  morning 
that  he,  Burmah,  had  returned  to  "face  the  music." 
Also,  on  the  previous  evening,  Arabella  had  told  him, 
when  he  found  opportunity  to  talk  to  her  with  the 
quartet,  Lester  and  Hubbard  in  the  background, 
that  her  father  had  received  some  news  by  mail  that 
had  caused  him  to  sing  exuberantly  in  his  cracked 
voice,  and  to  assure  her,  when  he  left,  that  the  time 
had  come  when  he  could  build  a  marble  opera-house. 
Burmah  yawned  again,  and  decided,  sleepily,  that 
he  would  get  the  morning  paper,  and  so  slipped  on  an 
"awful"  dressing-gown,  and  descended  the  stairs,  his 
bath-room  slippers  flapping  on  the  bare  steps  with  a 
hollow  sound.  He  took  the  paper  from  the  box,  and 
climbed  upward,  and  threw  himself  into  the  ham- 
mock in  his  balcony,  after  making  sure  that  no  one 
across  the  street  could  see  him.  He  opened  it 
languidly,  and  then,  with  a  grunt,  lost  his  air  of 
luxury  and  sat  up  at  the  imminent  risk  of  being 
tumbled  out.  His  eyes  had  fallen  on  the  "scare 
head"  of  the  newspaper,  which  read : 

"SEATTLE  GETS  RAILWAY" 

"Board    of    Directors    of    A.    &.    O.    definitely 

"decide  that  this  shall  be  the  terminus." 

"PORT  HATCH  IS  ABANDONED." 

^'Magnates  in  conference  at  Hotel  Jefferson  conclude 

that  claims  of  city  down  the  sound  are  not 

sufficient   to    overcome    the   prestige   of 

great  commercial  capital." 

Rapidly  he  scanned  the  column  of  news,  double- 
leaded  and  easy  to  read,  in  which  it  was  stated  that, 
after    a   long   conference   with   Colonel   Hatch,   the 


802  THE  BOOMERS. 

Directors,  who  had  arrived  quietly  and  unheralded, 
had  finally  decided  that  there  would  be  no  alteration 
in  the  original  plans  that  had  led  the  Atlantic  & 
Oriental,  true  as  the  steel  to  the  magnet,  to  Seattle ; 
that  Colonel  Hatch  had  advanced  claims  for  Port 
Hatch  with  his  customery  eloquence;  but  that  all 
had  been  unavailing.  Also,  that  what  had  taken 
place  in  the  meeting  had  been  preserved  as  a  profound 
secret,  and  that  nothing  save  the  fact  that  the  Colonel 
had  been  closeted  with  the  Board  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  afternoon,  and  that  the  official  announce- 
ment was  sent  to  the  newspapers  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  Board  in  person,  had  been  given  out.  The 
statement  could  be  accepted,  the  readers  were 
assured,  as  authoritative  and  irrevocable. 

Over  and  again  Burmah  read  this,  and  then  turned 
to  the  inside  page  where  the  leading  editorial  was 
devoted  to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  winning  city. 
In  it  was  reflected  a  note  of  pity  for  those  who  had 
foolishly  placed  their  confidence,  and  invested  their 
fortunes,  in  the  "City  Beautiful,"  which,  however 
worthy,  could  now  become  nothing  more  than  an 
abandoned  mushroom,  a  "busted  boom  town." 

"In  that  foreshadowed  and  inevitable  catastrophe 
to  Port  Hatch,"  the  paper  read,  "one  can  not  but 
find  it  painful  to  read  the  disappointment  of  that 
fine  old  gentleman.  Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch. 
Dreamer  that  he  is,  there  is  none  so  small  as  to 
believe  that  he  was  other  than  sincere,  although 
perhaps  over-confident.  He  attempted  to  create  a 
city  that  would  be  peerless.  He  poured  out  his 
private  means  to  that  end.  He  preached  to  its 
citizens  the  high  code  of  morality,  Americanism,  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  303 

loyalty  to  the  community,  and  there  has  never  been 
a  community  established  under  more  favorable 
auspices  than  this.  It  was  an  ideal,  founded  on 
hope.  It  was  a  city  that  one  would  like  to  believe 
a  perpetuity,  something  that  must  ever  grow  along 
the  lines  laid  out  by  its  founder.  So,  in  the  midst 
of  our  own  rejoicing  that  we  of  Seattle  are  to  be 
benefited  by  this  new  and  great  line  of  communica- 
tion, let  us  not  forget  to  remember,  with  sorrow, 
that  our  success  means  the  death-knell  of  a  great  and 
worthy  dream." 

Burmah's  face  was  drawn  and  lined  when  he  laid 
the  paper  down,  and  got  to  his  feet,  as  if  by  stand- 
ing erect  he  hoped  to  clear  his  mind,  and  grasp  the 
portent  of  this  blow.  He  stood  there  for  a  long 
time,  sorrowfully  drinking  to  the  dregs  the  cup  of 
disaster.  A  new-found  cup  this  was,  too,  contain- 
ing a  draught  that  but  a  few  months  before  would 
have  been  carelessly  emptied  into  the  gutter  as  he 
made  his  departure  for  other  fields,  jubilant  over  the 
fact  that  he  had  won  another  coup.  A  few  months 
before  he  would  have  wasted  scant  commiseration  on 
those  who  had  lost  through  his  speciousness.  But, 
now,  he  looked  across  the  street  at  the  elder  Todd, 
who  would  know,  before  long,  that  everything  he 
had  in  the  world,  save  actual  cash,  was  valueless. 
The  widow  woman  with  the  sprinkler,  who  had  in- 
vested all  she  had  in  a  few  lots,  would  also  have  to 
begin  life  over  again,  burdened  by  gray  hairs  and  a 
lean  purse.  There  they  were,  all  up  and  down  the 
length  of  the  street,  as  far  as  he  could  see  while 
standing  on  the  balcony,  monuments  of  poor  invest- 
ments made  on  trust — a  trust  that  he,  Burmah  Jones, 


304  THE  BOOMERS. 

had  founded,  and  that  he,  Burmah  Jones,  was  to  see 
fail.  Every  dollar  he  had  ever  made  from  Port 
Hatch  would  have  been  thrown  out  there  on  the  morn- 
ing breeze,  could  he  have  given  it  all  back  to  them. 
The  Colonel!  And  Arabella!  They,  too,  would  be 
among  the  sufferers,  and  yet  he,  Burmah,  had  done 
all  he  could  to  spare  them  this  deplorable  outcome. 
It  was  the  finish,  and  he,  astute  and  far-sighted, 
realized  it  better  than  did  any  other. 

He  wondered  what  could  have  taken  place  at  the 
conference;  and  then  his  eyes  fell  on  another  top- 
head  story  in  the  newspaper  that  he  had  tossed  on 
the  hammock,  and  this  time  he  seized  it  almost 
fiercely,  held  it  to  the  light,  and  fairly  raced  through 
the  lines  of  reading  matter.  It  was  the  story  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Atlantic 
&  Oriental  and  an  interview  with  its  Chairman,  Mr. 
Henry  Thornton.  It  contained,  also,  interviews 
with  some  other  members  of  the  Board,  including 
Mr.  Carleton  and  a  certain  Mr.  Sprague.  Burmah 
crumpled  the  paper  fiercely  in  his  hand,  and  dashed 
it,  a  mere  ball  of  waste,  to  the  floor. 

"They've  got  me !"  he  muttered,  savagely. 
"They've  got  me !  That's  why  the  road  didn't  come 
here." 

Again  he  fell  to  pacing  backward  and  forward  in 
the  room,  until,  calming  himself,  he  recovered  the 
paper,  smoothed  it  out  on  the  dresser  from  which  he 
ruthlessly  swept  the  toilet  articles  to  the  floor,  and 
painstakingly  read  every  line  devoted  to  the  railway, 
seeking  to  discover  whether  any  reference  had  been 
made,  by  anyone,  at  any  time,  to  himself.  There 
was  not  a  line  of  type  pertaining  to  him. 


THE  BOOMERS.  305 

"Burmah,  old  man,  this  won't  do,"  he  admonished 
himself.  "Pull  together.  Get  back  on  your  feet!" 
Walking  into  his  bath-room,  he  leaped  under  the 
cold  shower,  rubbed  himself  briskly,  and  donned  his 
clothing  while  deliberately  forcing  his  mind  to  resume 
its  normal  steadiness. 

"Now  here's  how  it  stands,"  he  reasoned  to  him- 
self, as  if  he  had  worked  over  every  conclusion,  and 
eliminated  the  improbable.  "It  must  be  that 
Thornton  and  Carleton  and  Sprague  have  climbed 
up  into  the  railway  wagon,  since  the  time  I  knew 
them  and  got  their  money.  Let  me  see.  Um-m-h! 
I  hooked  them  in  about  three  years  apart,  and,  at 
that  time,  I  don't  think  they  knew  each  other.  Then 
they  get  in  and  come  together  on  this  Ford  settle- 
ment, somehow,  when  old  Henry  Ford  died,  and 
that  son  of  his  wouldn't  follow  after  the  old  man's 
example,  but  left  his  few  hundred  millions  to  be 
handled  by  others.  They  say  it's  all  Ford  money 
that  controls  the  line,  so  that's  where  they  landed." 

Up  to  this  point  his  deductions  had  been  undeviat- 
ingly  true;  but  now  he  was  reaching  a  point  where 
conjectures  might  go  awry. 

"They  gumshoe  it  out  West  here,  trying,  like  all 
railway  projectors  do,  to  tear  loose  whatever  con- 
cessions they  can  from  the  biggest  towns  along  the 
route.  They  have  heard  so  much  about  Port  Hatch 
through  the  advertising  that  they  say  to  themselves, 
*  We'll  just  sneak  up  there,  and  look  her  over.' 
That's  when  I  see  some  of  them.  I  don't  know 
they've  climbed  up  the  dollar  ladder  so  far,  and 
think  they've  come  to  give  me  away,  and  I  bolt. 
They  hear  about  me  here  in  the  town  while  they're 


306  THE  BOOMERS. 

browsing  around,  and  so  send  for  the  Colonel  to  come 
to  Seattle  to  see  them.  He,  poor  old  chap,  loses 
his  nerve.  Also,  he  don't  know  how  to  handle  them. 
Seattle  looks  better  to  them  for  the  A.  and  O.  than 
Port  Hatch,  and  the  Lord  only  knows  what  induce- 
ments Seattle  made  them.  Maybe  they  didn't  give 
me  away  to  the  Colonel,  at  all!  No  man  who  is  a 
Director  of  a  Transcontinental  railway  likes  to  tell 
any  one  about  the  gold  bricks  he  bought.  He  likes 
to  have  folks  think  he's  so  all-fired  smart  that  nobody 
in  the  world  could  ever  bunco  him  out  of  a  cent. 
It  hurts  his  pride  and  his  reputation  to  squeal.  If 
I  had  all  the  money  that's  been  paid  by  big  bankers 
for  worthless  stuff,  I'd  build  two  or  three  railways 
before  breakfast  every  morning  for  a  month. 
Probably  Carleton,  Thornton  and  Sprague,  none  of 
'em,  said  a  word;  but  they  got  me,  just  the  same, 
as  they  look  at  it.  Maybe,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  me, 
they  would  have  come  here  with  the  road,  and  the 
Colonel,  and  Arabella  and  everyone  would  have  really 
been  rich — if  it  hadn't  been  for  the  dirty  crookedness 
of  me!     Just  me!" 

He  groaned  and  shook  his  fists  at  that  Burmah 
Jones  of  the  past,  who  stood  before  his  mental  vision 
like  a  foul  apparition,  and  his  clear  eyes  arraigned 
it,  line  by  line,  as  he  anathematized  it.  He  began 
with  his  childhood,  and  chased  history  through  the 
devious  years,  cursing  all  those  years  because  they 
had  led  him  to  this  point,  where,  when  he  wanted 
to  be  honest  and  straightforward,  that  past  held 
out  a  sinister  hand,  and  barred  him  from  all  that 
was  good,  and  condemned  him  to  the  retributive 
chains  of  his  reputation.     He  sat  for  an  hour  des- 


THE  BOOMERS.  307 

perately  trying,  from  the  fertility  of  his  resources 
and  his  splendid  imagination,  to  conceive  some 
method  of  saving  the  situation,  and  in  all  that  hour 
there  was  at  no  time  a  thought  of  self.  He  could 
see  nothing  ahead  but  failure  for  Port  Hatch  and 
all  concerned.  Port  Hatch's  doom  was  sealed,  and, 
unless  something  could  be  done  to  mend  its  fallen 
fortunes,  it  would  inevitably  be  a  veritable  deserted 
city.     First  of  all,  he  must  see  the  Colonel. 

And  so  it  was  that  he  stood  on  the  ornate  cement 
dock  waiting  for  the  steamer,  when  she  appeared 
around  the  curve  of  the  bay  and  whistled  her  salute. 
Others  were  there,  also,  drawn-faced  men,  who  talked 
quietly  in  groups,  and  occasionally  came  to  him, 
and  asked  him  in  voices  that  bravely  tried  to  suppress 
a  tremor,  whether  the  news  conveyed  in  the  morning 
papers  was  true.  Invariably  he  responded,  cheer- 
fully, that  he  hoped  not,  but  could  not  tell  until  the 
Colonel  arrived.  The  shadow  of  ruin  was  already 
darkening  the  skies  above  the  "City  Beautiful."  It 
seemed  as  if  a  large  majority  of  the  business  men 
of  the  town  were  there  beside  him  when  The  Golden 
Eagle  threw  out  her  gang-plank.  The  Colonel  was 
almost  the  only  passenger,  and  it  was  as  if  already 
he  had  come  to  be  one  of  the  sole  residents  of  Port 
Hatch,  and  that  traffic  had  reversed  itself.  He  came 
down  the  gang-plank,  looking  as  though  he  had  aged 
ten  years  in  a  day.  His  face  was  white  and  set,  but 
his  eyes  had  the  old  brave  look  in  them,  the  look  of 
the  man  who  still  dreams  of  victory  to  the  very  end 
of  the  fight,  and,  dying,  cheers.  The  anxious  crowd 
rushed  upon  him,  all  questioning  at  once,  and  he  met 
the  issue  fairly. 


308  THE  BOOMERS. 

"Well,  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  holding  up  his  long 
white  hand  for  silence,  "I  might  as  well  answer  you 
all  at  once.  You  want  to  know  if  what  you  saw  in 
the  Seattle  morning  papers  is  true.  I'm  right  sorry 
to  say  it  is.  The  Atlantic  and  Oriental,  conducted  by 
a  pack  of  scoundrels,  backed  by  the  lazy  son  of  a 
dead  multi-millionaire,  and  out  after  whatever  loot 
it  can  pick  up  on  the  trail,  has  at  the  last  minute 
decided  to  cut  its  own  throat  by  running  to  Seattle 
instead  of  to  our  city !" 

Men  stared  at  one  another  helplessly.  Some 
swore  softly.  Others  grumbled  loudly.  A  dozen 
or  so,  who  had  not  staked  their  all  on  the  venture, 
shrugged  their  shoulders,  and  walked  away.  A 
voice  at  the  edge  of  the  crowd,  which  Burmah  recog- 
nized as  that  of  a  druggist  to  whom  the  Colonel  had 
presented  a  residence  lot,  shouted: 

"Here  we  are !  Who  wants  to  buy  some  nice 
choice  property  in  Port  Hatch?  Make  me  an  offer! 
Who  wants  it.?  Name  your  own  price.  How  much 
am  I  offered.'^" 

The  crowd  swayed,  some  of  its  members  angrily, 
others  accepting  the  grim  jest,  and  others  eager  to 
get  back  to  their  homes  or  shops  where,  in  seclusion, 
they  could  think.  One  excited  man  crowded  toward 
the  Colonel,  and  shrieked : 

"You  knew  it  all  the  time!  You  wanted  our 
money,  you  old  hypocrite!" 

The  hurt  look  had  not  had  time  to  cloud  the 
Colonel's  eyes  before  at  this  complainant,  like  stone 
from  a  catapult,  sprang  Burmah  Jones. 

"You  lie!"  he  shouted,  as  he  struck,  and  the  man 


THE  BOOMERS.  809 

went  toppling  backward,  and  would  have  fallen  had 
not  the  crowd  been  too  dense. 

It  was  the  Colonel  who  caught  Burmah's  arm,  just 
as  he  was  about  to  strike  again,  and  who  restrained 
him. 

"Burmah!  Burmah!"  he  entreated.  "Don't! 
This  ain't  the  time  for  us  to  lose  our  temper." 

Burmah  shook  him  off  and  crowded  forward,  ges- 
ticulating, and  roaring  at  the  top  of  his  powerful 
voice. 

"Any  man  that  says  that  Colonel  Hatch  tried  to  get 
his  money  by  dishonesty,  is  a  liar!  And  any  man 
that  stops  aad  thinks  will  know  it!  If  anyone's 
to  be  blamed,  stick  it  on  me.  I'm  the  man  you  want 
to  talk  to.     Me !     Burmah  Jones  !" 

Little  Billy  broke  through  the  crowd,  with  Pick 
at  his  heels,  and  Hubbard  following,  and  together 
they  forced  the  Kansan  away  from  the  dock,  angrily 
denouncing  anyone  who  had  a  harsh  thought  against 
the  Colonel.  They  fairly  dragged  him,  resistant, 
combative  and  furious,  to  the  offices  of  the  Port 
Hatch  Land  Company,  where  they  led  him  to  his 
private  office,  and  induced  him  to  sit  down.  He 
dropped  into  the  depths  of  the  leather  chair  from 
which  he  had  made  so  many  deals,  and  suddenly  he 
subsided  as  if  utterly  spent,  his  head  drooped  on  his 
breast,  and  his  ruffled  silk  hat  fell  to  the  floor 
unheeded.  Disheveled,  with  his  watch-chain  broken 
and  dangling,  and  blood  dripping  from  a  cut  on  his 
knuckles,  he  gasped  for  breath. 

"Brandy!  Get  some  brandy!  Quick!"  ordered 
Little  Billy,  in  an  agony  of  apprehension;  and  Pick 
ran  out  of  the  room  to  return  a  moment  later  with 


310  THE  BOOMERS. 

a  flask.  Little  Billy,  big  and  powerful,  with  the 
solicitude  of  aifection  and  fear,  put  his  arm  behind 
Burmah's  back,  and  held  the  flask  to  his  purple  lips. 
Burmah  gulped  the  fiery  draught,  and  sat  up,  at 
first  weakly,  then  resolutely. 

"Thanks,"  he  said,  quietly,  as  he  pulled  a  hand- 
kerchief from  his  pocket,  and  tremblingly  wiped  the 
stains  from  his  hand.  He  frowned  at  his  watch- 
chain,  and  slipped  the  broken  ends  into  his  pocket, 
absent-mindedty,  then  reached  for  the  hat  that 
Hubbard  had  rescued  from  the  floor.  He  ironed  it 
with  his  coat-sleeve,  and  put  it  on  his  head. 

"Feeling  all  right  now,  Burmah?"  inquired  Pick; 
and  Burmah  twisted  his  face  into  a  wry  semblance 
of  a  smile. 

"Fit  as  a  fiddle,"  he  said.  And  then:  "I  guess  I 
made  a  cussed  a  fool  of  myself;  but,  Boys,  you  know 
what  I  said  was  true !  The  Colonel — God  bless  him ! 
— never  turned  a  crooked  card  in  his  life.  Send 
anyone  that's  got  a  kick  to  me."  There  was  a 
certain  grim  resolution  in  his  voice  as  he  added: 
"I'll  tell  'em  who's  to  blame !" 

The  Colonel  came  hurrying  into  the  room,  and 
rushed  to  him. 

"Burmah!  Burmah!"  he  exclaimed,  and  his 
voice  was  filled  with  boundless  affection. 

"Colonel!"  cautioned  Little  Billy,  plucking  at  the 
Colonel's  sleeve,  and  then,  leaning  over  and  whisper- 
ing in  the  Colonel's  ear:  "Please  don't  bother  him. 
He's  had  something  almost  like  a  stroke.  He'll  be 
all  right  in  a  little  while." 

But  the  Colonel  came  over  and  laid  his  arm  across 


THE  BOOMERS.  311 

the  bowed  shoulders  of  Burmah  Jones,  and  his  eyes 
were  moist,  and  his  voice  soft,  as  he  said : 

"Don't  mind  it,  old  Friend !  We'll  beat  them  all 
yet!  It's  Port  Hatch!  We  made  it,  Burmah,  you 
and  I.  She  goes  on  if  everything  else  in  the  world 
stops.  She's  ours !  Ingratitude's  the  failing  of 
weak  souls.  Big  ones  forgive  well-meant  failures. 
I  don't  mind  what  they  said  to  me,  down  there  on 
the  wharf.  They  don't  know — ^they  don't  under- 
stand !     But  we  do !     We  keep  right  on  going !" 

And  every  word  that  he  uttered  burned  as  with 
hot  steel  the  man  on  whose  shoulder  his  arm  rested, 
and  whose  back  his  hand  affectionately  patted  as 
if  striving  to  comfort  and  encourage. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

AND   ALL   IS   RUIN.  ' 

But,  if  it  be  the  part  of  big  souls  to  forgive 
ingratitude,  the  Colonel's  soul  was  to  be  tested  to 
the  utmost,  and  to  survive  must  consist  of  purest 
worth.  The  slump  was  on.  It  came  without  attempt 
at  concealment.  It  was  flagrant  in  its  openness. 
Conover  and  his  partners  were  the  first  to  move. 
On  the  very  day  of  the  announcement  that  the  rail- 
way would  not  come  to  Port  Hatch,  these  intelligent 
dealers  plastered  the  city  with  advertisements  that 
they  would  auction  off  what  remained  of  their  sub- 
division to  the  highest  bidder.  Burmah,  fighting 
like  an  old  wolf,  wounded  and  backed  against  a 
cliff,  went  to  them,  and  protested.  In  vain  he  tried 
to  assure  them  that  the  city  was  not  doomed  to  dis- 
solution, that  it  had  too  much  of  a  start,  that  it  was 
too  well  organized,  and  too  well  known  to  die  in  a 
day;  but  his  tongue  had  lost  his  old  eloquence,  his 
brain  its  old  magnetism.  Too  well  they  recognized 
that  he  was  fighting  a  losing  fight.  Too  well  he 
knew  that  he,  in  their  positions,  would  have  done  as 
they  were  doing,  and  have  followed  his  old  motto 
that  "only  a  sucker  stays  by  the  sinking  ship."  The 
sale,  in  the  following  week,  netted  them  scarcely  any- 
thing, and  the  remaining  lots  were  all  bid  in  by  none 
other  than  Burmah  Jones.  He  bought  at  a  ridic- 
ulously low  price,  paid  for  them  with  a  shut  jaw, 
and  said  he  hoped  the  firm  had  profited  well  from 
"F?ort  Hatch.     Carrying  his  attitude  of  complacence 

312 


THE  BOOMERS.  818 

still  further,  he  invited  them  to  the  club,  and  cheer- 
fully opened  a  bottle  of  wine  as  if  celebrating  the 
consummation  of  a  successful  deal. 

It  was  Conover  who  voiced  what  all  of  Port  Hatch 
believed. 

"Jones,"  he  said,  "you  are  a  good  loser;  but  you 
know  that  Port  Hatch  is  done.  Owls  and  bats  will 
be  in  its  buildings  within  three  months.  We've  got 
no  kick.  We  did  well.  We've  made  a  neat  profit, 
and  you're  too  wise  to  know  that  we  didn't.  Now, 
what  in  the  name  of  common-sense  makes  you  stick 
on  here?  You  tried  to  bull  the  market  here  this 
afternoon,  and  it  didn't  work.  There  weren't  a 
dozen  bids  outside  of  yours.  In  from  six  to  eight 
weeks'  time  you  couldn't  give  away  the  lots  you 
bought  this  afternoon !" 

Burmah  vainly  tried  to  assume  an  air  of  con- 
fidence that  did  not  in  the  least  deceive  them.  They 
knew,  and  he  knew,  that  he  was  recklessly  attempting 
to  fill  with  gas  the  balloon  that  had  burst. 

The  exodus  began  within  that  same  week.  All 
steamers  carried  away  men  who  had  found  someone 
foolish  enough  to  make  an  offer  on  property,  and 
no  steamer  brought  in  a  crowd  of  prospective  pur- 
chasers as  it  had  in  the  halcyon  days.  No  man 
entered  the  offices  to  buy,  but  there  were  scores  who 
came,  fretfully,  to  sell.  Port  Hatch  was  depopu- 
lating itself  in  convulsive  struggles,  like  a  snake  that 
had  used  its  bright  and  glittering  skin  to  the  utmost, 
and  was  now  shedding  it  for  another.  The  drays 
went  loaded  but  one  way,  and  that  toward  the  water- 
front. All  came  back  empty.  They  and  the  cabs 
alone  profited  by  the  exodus.     Everyone  seemed  to 


314  THE  BOOMERS. 

have  lost  faith  in  Port  Hatch,  and  to  have  aban- 
doned hope  for  its  future,  save  the  Colonel,  Arabella, 
and  the  little  group  of  faithful  ones  that  constantly 
visited  Marquard  Villa. 

And,  at  last,  even  one  of  these  defected,  the  cau- 
tious Kirby,  who,  one  night,  two  months  after  the 
day  of  the  announcement  of  doom,  said  hesitatingly 
that  he  had  concluded  he  would  be  compelled  to  seek 
a  larger  field,  and  had  selected  Seattle  as  the  best 
place  for  his  practise.  He  chose  an  opportune 
moment  when  none  of  the  other  young  men  from 
Chattanooga  was  present,  and  the  Colonel,  Burmah 
and  Arabella  were  sitting  on  the  terrace,  each  striving 
to  comprehend  the  changes  wrought  by  vicissitude. 

"Going?  You  going,  too,  Kirby?"  the  Colonel 
asked,  with  a  little  catch  in  his  voice,  as  if  he  had 
not  expected  this  desertion. 

"Yes,  Sir,"  Kirby  announced,  without  looking  up. 
"A  young  man  has  to  look  out  for  his  best  interests 
as  he  sees  them." 

"That's  true,"  replied  the  Colonel,  thoughtfully; 
"but — say — aren't  you  a  little  premature?" 

Burmah,  with  his  face  in  the  shadows,  grinned 
satirically,  but  made  no  comment. 

"Well,  Sir,  I  don't  think  so,"  declared  Kirby. 
"In  fact.  Colonel,  I  can't  see  why  anyone  insists  on 
staying  here,  but  perhaps  those  who  do  have  reasons. 
It's  too  bad.  It's  the  most  beautiful  place  I  know 
of." 

"The  most  glorious  in  the  world,"  the  Colonel 
answered,  with  some  of  his  old-time  fervency; 
"destined,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  the  greatest  port 
on  the  Pacific   Coast.     The  city  magnificent,  Sir! 


THE  BOOMERS.  315 

The  'City  Beautiful!'  You  are  making  a  grave 
error  in  leaving  at  this  crucial  moment." 

Kirby  looked  at  Arabella;  but  she  did  not  deign 
to  voice  a  protest,  beyond  saying: 

"We  had  thought  you  would  stay,  Kirby.  But 
everyone  seems  anxious  to  go,  so  I  don't  know  why 
you  shouldn't." 

"Oh,  I'm  not  going  for  good,"  he  hastened  to 
say.  "You  see,  I  can  run  up  for  a  week  end  now 
and  then,  so  that  I'll  not  lose  track  of  you  all." 

But,  to  his  dismay,  she  did  not  urge  this  point, 
and  again  Burmah  indulged  in  a  sly  grin,  as  he 
stretched  out  his  short  legs,  and  reached  for  a 
fresh  cigar.  The  other  members  of  the  quartet 
when  they  arrived  were  not  so  lenient.  They  called 
him  a  "quitter,"  and  a  "turn-coat,"  and  heaped 
sarcastic  remarks  on  his  head  until  Arabella  inter- 
fered in  Kirby's  behalf. 

"Let  him  go,  if  he  wants  to,"  she  said,  stoutly. 
"I  don't  see  why  anyone  should  stay  here  if  he 
thinks  he  can  do  better  somewhere  else." 

And  so,  on  the  following  day,  Kirby  left,  after 
selling  his  lots  to  Tommy,  who  still  insisted  that 
Port  Hatch  couldn't  lose,  and  to  Hubbard,  who 
invested  all  his  savings  with  patient  fortitude,  then 
continued  with  the  drawings  that  ceaselessly  grew. 

Little  Billy,  faithful,  and  Pick,  determined,  dis- 
cussed the  case  with  Burmah,  who  advised  them  to 
move  slowly. 

"One  never  can  tell.  Boys,"  he  said,  "what  will 
happen;  not  that  I  don't  think  a  heap  of  you  for 
askin'  me  what  to  do.  But,  you  see,  if  I  told  you 
to  buy,  you  might  think  I  was  prejudiced.     Person- 


816  THE  BOOMERS. 

ally,  although  I  don't  want  you  to   say  anything 
about  it,  I'd  hold  off  for  six  months." 

But  he  was  secretly  pleased  at  their  independence 
when  he  learned  that  they  had  sent  home  for  money 
and  had  invested  it  in  the  somewhat  foolish  attempt 
to  bull  a  market  that  refused  to  rise.  He  saw 
the  crumbling  of  the  city  daily  under  his  eyes, 
until  it  would  have  been  possible  to  buy  a  lot 
on  Main  Street  with  a  fine  "High  Art"  build- 
ing, for  less  than  the  initial  cost  of  the  land,  and 
through  it  all  he  passed  doggedly,  fighting  a  losing 
battle,  stepping  ever  backward  with  stiff  steps.  At 
first,  he,  too,  had  plunged  and  bought,  hoping  by 
this  example  to  stave  off  the  dissolution,  then  recog- 
nizing the  hopelessness  of  such  a  course,  had  tied 
his  purse-strings  with  a  hard  knot  against  the  inevi- 
table rainy  day  of  the  end,  and  patiently  waited  for 
the  coup  de  grace.  He  was  in  a  doubtful  state,  and 
speculating  more  on  the  future,  when  Port  Hatch 
would  finally  be  numbered  among  the  deserted  cities, 
than  on  the  immediate  passing  days.  He  was  study- 
ing the  real-estate  and  financial  news  from  other 
cities,  with  the  brave  resolution  that,  when  he  left 
Port  Hatch,  he  would  try  to  take  the  Colonel  with 
him,  and  start  all  over  again,  surreptitiously 
advancing  funds  to  the  Colonel  for  a  partnership; 
for  he  knew  that  by  no  other  course  could  the 
Colonel  be  induced  to  accept  anything.  He  did  not 
stop  to  consider  the  change  in  his  own  mental  atti- 
tude, nor  could  he  have  explained  it  any  more  than 
he  could  have  accounted  for  the  alterations  in  the 
tides  that  still  beat,  languidly,  against  the  aban- 
doned docks  of  the  city.     All  he  knew  was  that  he  had 


THE  BOOMERS.  817 

fought  it  out  that  day  in  Seattle,  and  had  determined 
never  again  to  run  from  any  issue,  and  never  again 
to  evade  the  truth.  There  were  times,  now,  when  he 
scorned  himself  for  what  he  was  inclined  to  accept  as 
a  weakness;  but,  despite  this  scorn,  no  thought  of 
surrender  came  to  him.  At  times,  he  considered, 
desperately,  a  journey  to  New  York,  to  try  to  make 
peace  with  the  Directors  of  the  Atlantic  &  Oriental. 
It  was  through  no  fear  or  selfishness  that  he  did  not 
make  the  trip,  because  he  would  willingly  have  re- 
turned his  three  old-time  victims  all  the  money  they 
had  ever  lost  and  more,  had  he  believed  such  a 
course  would  cause  them  to  relent;  but  he  was  con- 
vinced that  their  announcement  was  irrevocable,  and 
that,  in  all  probability,  the  inducements  offered  by 
Seattle  were  greater  than  any  that  Port  Hatch  could 
give.  He  had  tried  to  learn  more  definitely  from 
the  Colonel  exactly  what  had  been  the  conversation 
at  the  Board  meeting,  but  found  him  extremely 
reticent,  or  hot-tempered,  whenever  the  subject  was 
broached,  so  finally  dropped  it.  The  fat  was  leaving 
him,  and  baggy  folds  had  come  around  his  jowls,  and 
his  ring  could  no  longer  be  worn.  His  girth  de- 
creased, but  he  clung  to  his  old  clothes,  from  force 
of  that  habit  which  had  made  him  dread  utter  poverty 
in  those  long  days  between  coups  when  the  whole 
world  was  his  to  victimize,  and  he  neither  asked,  nor 
gave,  quarter. 

The  decline  of  the  Colonel  was  more  pitiable,  for 
his  blow  was  greater,  inasmuch  as  he  had  never,  for 
an  instant,  doubted  the  advent  of  the  railway,  and 
the  continued  prosperity  of  the  city  of  which  he 
was  so  insanely  proud.     It  required  time  for  him 


318  THE  BOOMERS. 

to  grasp  the  extent  of  the  disaster,  and  then  fell 
regular  weekly  blows  that  hammered  and  battered 
him  beyond  belief,  these  being  occasioned  by  meet- 
ings of  the  City  Council,  over  which  he  presided 
as  Mayor,  in  the  fine  City  Hall,  which  he  had 
donated.  Inevitably,  as  these  meetings  came,  one 
or  more  members  tendered  their  resignations,  and 
usually  the  resignations  were  either  cynical,  or  jocose, 
each  word  harpooning  the  Colonel  like  a  bomb-lance. 
Invariably  the  resignations  were  accepted,  and  the 
Colonel  suggested  that  some  other  member  make  a 
resolution  of  thanks  for  "the  most  efficient  services 
of  our  esteemed  fellow  citizen.  Mister  So-and-so,  as  a 
member  of  the  City  Council  of  Port  Hatch,  who  is 
compelled  by  business  considerations  to  seek  other 
fields." 

And  still  further  to  show  that  he  cherished  no 
malice  for  all  the  unkindness  shown,  the  Colonel 
always  paid  to  have  these  resolutions  engrossed  and 
duly  presented  to  the  departing  member.  Tke 
Colonel  also  invariably  made  a  speech  to  the  man 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  which  he  used  the 
words  : 

"It  is  no  slight  honor  to  become  a  member  of  a 
body  that  directs  the  destinies  of  the  most  beautiful 
city  in  the  world,  one  that  in  time  shall  be  among 
the  most  prominent  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  which 
will  always  appreciatively  remember  the  services  of 
those  who  have  been  known  as  the  city  fathers." 

It  began  to  look  as  if  Skaggs  and  his  partner 
would  eventually  become  members  of  the  Council, 
merely  because  there  would  be  no  other  men  left  in 
the  town  to  fill  the  vacancies.     Even  Burmah  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  319 

the  elder  Todd  had  become  city  fathers,  and  received 
their  little  speeches.  Herr  Schmidt  had  burst  almost 
beyond  bounds  with  importance  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed, and,  strangely  enough,  used  so  much  per- 
sonal influence  with  his  band  that  nearly  all  its  mem- 
bers stood  steadfast.  Another  concert-trip  was  being 
planned,  which  held  out  so  much  hope  of  income  for 
the  organization,  and  the  band  played  its  nightly 
concert  in  the  Park  stand  with  an  audience  consist- 
ing of  about  two  score  persons,  including  Zo-Zo, 
the  animal-keeper.  Burmah  found  some  enjoyment 
from  tendering  bets  to  Hubbard  on  how  many  less 
auditors  there  would  be  at  each  concert,  the  grim 
humor  of  which  Hubbard,  ever  more  distressed  and 
despondent,  but  persistently  industrious,  failed  to 
appreciate  fully. 

The  grass  was  beginning  to  grow  long  on  the 
uncared-for  lawns  in  front  of  deserted  residences, 
and  the  skeletons  of  unfinished  buildings,  on  which 
work  had  suddenly  stopped  that  day  of  tragedy, 
began  to  show  effects  of  the  weather.  Main  Street 
lost  its  charm,  and,  but  for  an  occasional  exception, 
the  shop  windows  bore  signs,  "For  Sale.  Name 
your  own  price."  The  Club  was  almost  deserted, 
and  often  Pick,  vainly  seeking  news,  sat  there  alone, 
and  wondered  what  had  become  of  "the  merry  wights 
of  yester-eve." 

The  end  seemed  very  close  on  that  sleepy,  peace- 
ful evening  when  Lester,  still  unchanged  in  appear- 
ance or  manner,  placidly  strolled  through  the  long, 
deserted  street  up  the  hill  and  out  to  the  palace 
on  the  cliff.  He  seemed  the  only  happy  person  in 
Port  Hatch.     He  astonished  the  only  man  he  saw 


320  THE  BOOMERS. 

by  whistling  gaily,  and  this  unfortunate,  who  had 
not  sufficient  means  to  depart,  promptly  came  out, 
leaned  over  the  fence,  and  watched  him  as  long  as 
he  was  in  sight.  After  Lester  had  disappeared,  he 
shook  his  head  in  commiseration,  and  decided  that 
the  young  man  must  have  gone  insane.  Otherwise, 
what  in  the  world  was  there  to  whistle  for? 

Marquard  Villa  looked  even  finer  than  it  had  in 
the  spring  months,  and  offered  a  brave  contrast  to 
the  other  residences  of  the  city,  as  if  defiantly  in- 
sisting that  there  was  no  possibility  of  decline.  Its 
trees  were  heavy  with  foliage,  its  lawns  like  splendid 
carpets,  its  fountains  splashing,  and  its  air  fra- 
grant with  the  odor  of  carnations.  Lester  smiled  to 
himself  as  he  sauntered  along  the  well-rolled  gravel 
walk  toward  the  house,  and  thought  that  it  was 
extremely  fortunate  that  the  Colonel  had  this  beauti- 
ful home  left  clear  of  incumbrance.  Then  his  face 
sobered  as  it  occurred  to  him  that  probably  it  would 
be  but  a  short  time  before  the  Colonel  would  have  to 
borrow  money  for  its  maintenance  from  some  Seattle 
millionaire  wanting  a  country  home.  Lester  had  no 
doubt  that  the  Colonel  would  continue  to  borrow 
up  to  the  very  day  of  ejection.  It  was  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  Marquard  Villa  would  be  kept  up 
and  improved,  so  long  as  the  Colonel  could  find  a 
dollar  for  that  purpose. 

Lester's  face  was  still  clouded  by  this  thought 
when  he  was  ushered  into  the  hall-way  by  Uncle 
Jeff,  whose  kindly  old  black  face  was  exactly  as  it 
had  been  on  the  day  of  his  arrival.  If  all  else  failed, 
he  alone  would  be  confident,  with  a  child-like  faith, 
to  the  day  of  his  death,  that  the  Colonel  would  sooner 


THE  BOOMERS.  821 

or  later  prove  to  "dat  cheap  white  trash  what  a 
gemmun  could  do." 

Lester  had  become  too  much  of  a  familiar  in  the 
household  to  require  announcement,  so  Uncle  Jeff, 
after  greeting  him,  said,  in  a  matter-of-fact  way  : 

"Missy  Arabella,  Sah,  am  out  on  de  terrus.  De 
Kunnel  am  down  to  de  Council  meetin'.  Dey  ain't 
nobody  else  heah,  Sah,  an'  Ah  is  shoah  glad  you  come^ 
bekase  Ah  reckons  Missy  Arabella  right  lonesome  like. 
Right  out  dah,  Sah !" 

Lester  advanced  to  the  terrace  with  his  usual  cdre- 
less,  swinging  stride,  and  his  feet  made  no  sound  as 
he  walked  over  the  profusion  of  rugs  in  which  the 
Colonel  delighted,  and  to  which  Hubbard  had  always 
objected.  He  paused  for  an  instant,  admiring  her 
as  she  sat  looking  out  into  the  dusk  that  was  so 
rapidly  gathering  over  the  western  ranges,  and  it 
seemed  to  him  that  for  the  first  time  he  observed 
a  drawn  look  in  the  face,  a  profile  that  had  become 
more  clearly  cut.  He  was  almost  by  her  side  when 
she  became  aware  of  his  presence,  and  looked  up 
at  him  with  a  smile  that  was  a  trifle  wan. 

"You  appear  rather  disconsolate,  this  evening,'' 
he  said,  lightly,  as  if  to  rally  her,  and  she  looked 
away  from  him  toward  the  west. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  with  her  usual  frankness, 
"I  am.     I'm  more  than  that:  I'm  down-right  blue!" 

For  some  reason,  intuitive  rather  than  deduced, 
that  he  could  not  have  expressed,  he  knew  that  this 
was  not  the  moment  for  frivolities,  and  so  made  no 
reply  as  he  seated  himself  at  the  other  end  of  the 
curved  marble  seat,  twisted  a  cushion  up  behind  his 
back,  and  lighted  a  cigarette.     Nor  did  she  imme- 


322  THE  BOOMERS. 

diately  speak  again,  but  sat  frowning  off  into  the 
distance  for  a  full  minute.  She  finally  turned  and 
faced  him. 

"Why  don't  you  say  something?"  she  asked.  "I 
feel  to-night  as  if  I  wanted  someone  to  talk  to  me." 

"What  shall  I  say?"  he  asked,  with  a  slight  intona- 
tion of  raillery.  "There  is  nothing  to  talk  about 
that  I  know  of,  except  that  to-day  there  was  a 
notice  posted  on  the  wharf  that  hereafter  we  are  to 
have  but  one  regular  boat  per  day,  and  that  it  will 
call  at  noon." 

She  sighed  softly,  as  if  this  had  been  an  expected, 
but  dreaded,  event. 

"Does  Father  know  it?"  she  asked. 

"I  don't  think  so." 

She  waited  a  moment  before  speaking,  and  then 
said,  in  a  voice  of  distress: 

"Oh,  I  am  so  sorry!  Father  will — well — you 
can't  imagine  how  it  hurts  him — every  time  some- 
thing of  this  kind  happens." 

"I  do  imagine,"  he  responded,  quietly.  "One 
must  be  blind  not  to  discover  that." 

"He  has  failed,  dreadfully,  hasn't  he?"  she  asked, 
in  a  tone  betraying  her  anxiety. 

Quite  slowly,  as  if  with  reluctance,  he  agreed; 
and  again,  for  a  few  minutes,  they  sat  without 
speech,  each  engrossed  with  thought.  There  was 
something  almost  of  despair  in  her  voice  when  she 
again  turned  to  him,  and  shifted  in  her  seat  as  if 
wearied  of  looking  out  over  the  unchanging  western 
mountains  that  stood,  inflexible  and  unfeeling, 
against  the  sky-line,  heedless  of  the  misfortunes  of 
those  who  dwelt  within  their  view. 


THE  BOOMERS.  323 

"Tell  me,"  she  said,  as  if  longing  for  some  word 
of  encouragement,  "what  is  to  be  the  end  of  all 
this?  I  can  talk  to  you  more  freely  than  to  anyone 
else,  save  Uncle  Burmah,  and  of  late  he  has  become 
so  quiet,  so — what  shall  I  say? — so  changed,  that 
I  can  get  him  to  say  nothing." 

Lester  smiled,  with  a  show  of  scorn  that  he  would 
have  concealed,  had  not  the  shadows  been  so  heavy 
as  to  render  it  obscure. 

"I  don't  suppose  he  feels  like  saying  much  of  any- 
thing," he  answered.  "Why  should  he?  He  is  the 
only  one  I  know  of  in  Port  Hatch  that  made  and 
kept  his  money." 

"That  is  unkind  of  you!"  she  declared  with  hasty 
firmness.  "You  have  no  right  to  say  that.  I 
don't  like  it.  It  doesn't  seem  quite  worthy  of  you, 
because  you  can  see,  for  yourself,  that  he  is  doing 
the  best  he  can,  and  that  he,  too,  has  suffered.  He 
shows  it.  At  least,  he  hasn't  deserted  us,  as  nearly 
the  whole  town  has  done." 

Lester  fought  a  desire  to  express  his  opinion  of 
Burmah,  and  then  suddenly  sat  up  and  leaned  aginst 
the  stone  railing.  The  girl  by  his  side  had  stated 
a  truth,  for  Burmah  was  still  there.  It  certainly 
did  not  seem  that  he  had  proven  so  mercenary  as 
Lester  had  suspected.  Why  had  he  stood  stead- 
fast, when  it  would  have  been  better  for  his  own 
interest  had  he  gone  with  the  others?  He  found 
himself  puzzling  over  this,  and  at  last  relieved  him- 
self by  saying : 

"I  beg  pardon!  I  shouldn't  have  said  anything 
about  him." 

"I  knew  you  would  admit  it,"  Arabella  replied. 


824  THE  BOOMERS. 

"It  isn't  like  you  to  say  mean  things.  Do  you  know, 
that's  one  reason  why  I  admire  you !  You  have  been 
here  ever  since  we  have,  and  you  are  always  the 
same — only,  do  you  know,  I  believe  I  would  like 
you  more  if  you  weren't  so  dreadfully  aloof." 

He  was  aware  that  she  was  studying  him,  and  he 
grew  restless  under  her  look,  and  tried  to  shift  the 
topic. 

"You  want  to  know  what  I  think  will  be  the  end 
of  things?"  he  said.  "Well,  I'll  tell  you.  The  end 
will  be  that  there  will  be  nothing  here  on  this  point 
but  the  villa.  There  is  nothing  to  make  a  city  here, 
for  many  years,  now,  save  a  railway.  It  could  be 
a  great  city  with  that,  and  it  would  have  been  beau- 
tiful ;  but  it  was  only  a  dream  on  the  Colonel's  part, 
and  a — well — let  us  say — a  hope,  on  the  part  of 
Burmah  Jones." 

He  could  tell  by  her  attitude  that  she  was  de- 
spondent over  his  prediction,  and  guessed  that  she 
had  been  hoping  that  he  would  say  something 
encouraging,  when  there  was  no  encouragement  to 
be  given  in  truth.  He  thought  it  best  to  make  it 
plain  to  her ;  if  she  still  had  any  lingering  illusion,  it 
should  be  cleared  away. 

"Listen,"  he  said,  in  a  gentle  voice,  and  bending 
toward  her  so  that  he  could  see  her  face  more 
clearly  as  she  sat  there  in  the  dusk.  "Sometimes 
it's  kinder  to  be  cruel.  There's  not  a  chance  in  the 
world  for  Port  Hatch  without  a  railway.  The  rail- 
way management  has  announced  that  it  will  go  to 
Seattle,  ani  that  seems  final.  The  Colonel  is  bUt 
wasting  his  time,  and  what  small  money  he  has  left, 


THE  BOOMERS.  825 

by   remaining  here.       He   should  close   Marquard, 
and  go  before  his  last  money  is  gone." 

"Money!"  she  responded  as  he  paused.  "Money! 
Why,  do  you  know  that  I  don't  believe  he  has  had  a 
dollar  left  for  the  past  month?  Do  you  know 
that  I  suspect,  although  I  can't  find  out,  that  his 
bank-balance  has  been  frequently  renewed  by  Uncle 
Burmah?" 

He  started,  almost  obstinately,  as  if  loath  to  grant* 
such  a  fantastic  surmise  any  credence  whatever.  He 
was  still  reluctant  to  believe  that  the  man  whom  he 
had   conceived   to   be   nothing   but   a   cold-blooded 
swindler  had  shown  such  a  liberality. 

"Why  do  you  think  that?"  he  demanded. 

"Because,"  she  answered,  "twice  Father  has  been 
surprised  to  get  his  bank-book,  and  find  balances 
that  he  did  not  know  existed.  Each  time  he  wrote 
the  bank,  and  each  time  they  replied  that  all  the  in- 
formation they  had  to  give  was  that  certain  drafts 
had  been  received,  and  deposited  to  Father's  credit. 
I  asked  Uncle  Burmah,  and  he  merely  grunted  in 
the  way  he  has  when  he  doesn't  want  to  say  any- 
thing.    It  looks  mighty  peculiar  to  me!" 

Lester  did  not  immediately  reply. 

"Don't  you  think  it  does?"  she  insisted,  as  if 
seeking  his  opinion  to  fortify  her  own. 

"Yes,  it  is — unusual,"  he  admitted,  thoughtfully. 
"But  that  is  all  the  more  reason  why  you  should 
try  to  influence  the  Colonel  to  leave  here  before 
he  is  too  hopelessly  involved." 

"I  know  it,"  she  answered,  wearily.  "But  did 
you  ever  know  anyone  to  influence  him  in  anything 


326  THE  BOOMERS. 

where  his  mind  and  heart  were  set,  as  they  are  on 
Port  Hatch?    It  can't  be  done!" 

"Wouldn't  he  go  if — if  you  were  to  leave?" 

"Leave?     If  I  were  to  leave?" 

She  half-arose  from  her  seat,  as  if  confused  by 
mingled  surprise   and  indignation. 

"Why,  what  on  earth  are  you  talking  about? 
Leave  my  father?  I  would  no  more  think  of  leaving 
him,  even  as  a  pretext  to  get  him  to  go,  than  I 
would  think  of  murdering  him  in  his  sleep !" 

She  was  not  in  the  least  aware  that  he  was 
strangely  disturbed  by  her  answer,  and  that  he 
had  awaited  her  words  with  a  sudden  hungry 
flame  in  his  eyes.  He  bent  his  broad  young  shoul- 
ders a  trifle,  and  restrained  a  tremor  in  his  voice 
as  he  asked: 

"But,  if  it  were  for  your  happiness,  would  you 
not  go?" 

"No,"  she  replied  without  hesitation;  "I  would 
not." 

"But  suppose,  also,  that  it  was  for  his  good?" 
he  questioned,  eagerly. 

She  turned  her  face  toward  him,  and  met  his 
look  squarely  and  with  candor. 

"There  is  a  great  deal  of  diiference  between  what 
is  for  his  good,  and  what  is  for  his  happiness.  I 
don't  shut  my  eyes  to  the  truth,  you  see;  but  I 
know,  better  than  anyone  in  the  world  does,  that 
his  happiness,  his  everything,  is  here — ^bound  up 
in  all  this  that  you  see — out  there!" — she  waved 
her  hand  toward  the  distant  mountains  illumined 
by  the  rising  moon— "and  in  Port  Hatch.  It 
means  more  to  him  than  all  else  in  the  world — save 


THE  BOOMERS.  327 

his  friends  and  me.  You  see,  it  was  more  than 
success,  because  he  loved  it.  It  was  more  than 
triumph,  because  it  proved  his  assertion — you  know 
v/hat  he  used  to  say  so  often,  about  a  gentleman 
being  able  to  make  money  if  he  wanted  to.  Its 
failure  means  his  humiliation.  He  wrote  so  often 
about  it  to  his  old  friends  back  home!  He  gloried 
in  it!  It  was  named  after  him.  He  was  the  first 
Mayor!  He  felt  that  he  had  created  it.  You 
don't  know,  but  I  do,  that  he  is  dying  by  inches 
— and  dying,  too,  of  a  broken  heart." 

She  paused,  and  her  white  fingers  twisted  them- 
selves together  as  if  her  distress  were  bringing  her 
to  tlie  verge  of  a  break-down.  Lester  fought  an 
impulse  to  seize  them  and  to  comfort  her ;  but  did  not 
dare. 

"Oh,  you  don't  any  of  you  understand,  unless  it's 
Uncle  Burmah — God  bless  him!  You  don't  know 
how  my  father  walks  backward  and  forward  on  the 
terrace  out  here  in  the  night,  and  over  the  lawn, 
when  he  thinks  I  am  asleep!  Nor  of  how  I  have 
heard  him  muttering  in  his  dreams,  and  have  tip- 
toed to  his  door,  and  listened  to  all  the  grief  that 
is  just  fairly  killing  him!  Don't  you  see  that  it 
isn't  Port  Hatch  alone  that's  dying?  It's  my 
father  who  is  dying  with  it !  When  Port  Hatch 
dies,   so  will  he!     It's   sure — it's  positive!" 

She  started  to  her  feet,  then  whirled,  and  all  her 
brave  restraint  was  gone — all  her  fight  to  preserve 
a  cheerful  front  to  the  disaster  that  was  over- 
whelming her.  She  abruptly  dropped  back  to  the 
cushions,  threw  her  arms  across  the  balustrade 
above  the  edge  of  the  cljff,  buried  her  face  in  them, 


328  THE  BOOMERS. 

and  burst  into  tears.  Lester,  the  apparently  cold 
and  phlegmatic,  had  strained  forward,  tensed  in 
every  fiber,  and  shutting  his  jaws  as  if  to  repress 
a  cry  as  she  talked,  and  his  hands  had  gripped  the 
edge  of  the  marble  on  which  he  sat  as  if  to  check 
himself  from  making  some  serious  mistake  that 
might  forever  cut  him  off  from  her  life.  But  now, 
overcome,  he  leaped  to  his  feet,  and  across  the 
intervening  space  in  the  curve  of  the  niche,  and 
threw  himself  on  his  knees  beside  her. 

"Arabella!  Arabella!"  he  exclaimed.  "This  can't 
go  on !  It  mustn't !  It  isn't  the  Colonel,  nor  you  alone, 
that  is  being  crucified,  but  I  as  well.  I  can't  stand 
it  to  see  you  suffer.  I  won't !  I  love  you,  Arabella. 
I  love  you  too  much  for  that.  Oh — I — "  He  seized 
her  arms,  almost  roughly,  and  lifted  them  from  the 
stone.  He  gathered  them  and  her  head  into  his 
embrace,  and  stroked  her  hair  as  she  sobbed  on 
his  shoulder.  He  lifted  himself  to  his  feet,  carry- 
ing her  with  him,  until  they  stood  together;  she 
unresisting,  and  he  holding  her  close  as  he  might 
have  held  a  wounded  child,  tenderly,  and  with  a 
passionate  desire  to  comfort.  He  could  not  speak, 
although  his  thoughts  leaped  to  a  torrent  of  words, 
for  his  throat  was  restricted,  his  lips  dry,  and  his 
heart  pounding  wildly  with  a  great  elation  and 
love.  He  could  only  bend  over  and  kiss  her  hair, 
sense  rather  than  smell  its  intoxicating  fragrance 
that  enveloped  his  face  like  a  perfume,  and  hold 
her  with  a  reverence  profound  and  overpowering. 
All  that  he  had  wanted  to  tell  her,  for  many  months, 
at  last  surged  into  words  that  he  whispered  into 
her  ears  while  she,  as  if  tired  of  the  struggle  and 


THE  BOOMERS.  329 

her  well-kept  sorrows,  rested  quietly,  save  for  the 
timid,  yet  yearning,  up-lift  of  her  arms,  which 
crept  around  his  neck,  and  clung  to  him  as  if  to 
some  wondrous  shield  of  refuge  and  comfort. 

She  drew  away  from  him,  after  a  time,  and  now 
her  hands  held  his  face,  and  she  studied  it,  and  his 
eyes,  with  a  pathetic  air  of  inquiry.  The  moon 
had  crept  above  the  trees,  benignant,  wise  and 
tolerant.  It  beautified  with  soft  shadows  the  stately 
villa  on  the  cliff.  It  made  of  the  terrace,  perched 
high  above  the  glittering  sound,  a  balcony  of  love. 
It  rendered  the  ivy  that  she  had  nurtured  until  it 
climbed  upward  along  the  facade,  a  marvelous 
lace-work  imbedded  in  mystic  light.  It  enhanced 
the  tender  warmth  and  timidity  of  her  eyes;  it 
emphasized  the  wholesomeness  of  his  face  as  he 
met  her  inspection.  They  were  suddenly  incapable 
of  speech.  They  had  passed  beyond  the  possibility 
of  words  to  that  marvelous  place  where  souls  are 
bare,  and  must  show  clean  to  brave  the  test. 

It  was  almost  in  a  tone  of  wonder  at  the  miracle 
that  she  spoke,  when  at  last  she  found  voice. 

"I  know  nothing  of  you,"  she  said,  barely  above 
a  whisper,  "save  that  I  love  you.  You  have  told 
me  nothing  of  yourself,  yet  I  trust  you.  I  4esire 
nothing  but  you.  I  have  known  you  only  since  I 
came  here,  and  yet  I  feel  that  I  have  kno^n  you 
always.  You  have  said  no  word  of  love  to  me, 
until  to-night,  and  yet  I  have  known,  as  if  always, 
that  you  loved  me,  and  that  you  are  strong." 

And  he,  thrilled  to  ecstasy,  too  overcome  to 
reply,  could  but  draw  her  more  closely  to  him,  and 
pillow  her  head  on  his  breast, 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  KNAVE  SACRIFICES  HIS  ALL. 

It  was  nearly  midnight  when  Burmah  Jones  led 
the  way  to  the  door  of  the  Club,  with  the  Colonel 
lagging  a  step  or  two  in  the  rear,  took  out  his 
key,  opened  the  door,  and  stepped  in.  He  paused 
to  look  backward  along  the  moon-flooded  street  that 
was  as  quiet  as  if  Death  had  taken  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Port  Hatch,  and  wafted  them  away,  for- 
ever, to  some  new  land.  There  was  but  one  light 
visible,  and  Burmah,  with  a  twinge  of  conscience, 
identified  it  as  the  one  that  shone  from  above  the 
hardware  store  where  the  elder  Todd  had  his  abode, 
and  was  at  that  moment  doubtless  walking  the 
floor,  and  suffering  torments  of  distress  and  appre- 
hension. The  widow's  place  was  dark,  and  the 
vines  that  trailed  from  the  flower-boxes  over  her 
balcony  appeared  polished  and  motionless.  From 
the  distance  came  the  heavy,  restless  "woof"  of  one 
of  the  lions  in  the  Zoological  Gardens,  as  it  longed 
for  freedom  and  night  wandering  beneath  the  moon. 
In  a  subdued  monotone  could  be  heard  the  sullen 
lash  of  the  waves  against  the  wharves,  beaches  and 
cliffs  of  Port  Hatch.  Gone  were  the  voices  of 
those  who  laughed,  or  sang,  when  the  night  was 
scarcely  old,  and  gone  were  the  sounds  of  music 
bursting  carelessly  from  some  residence  where  a 
jovial  party  had  gathered  for  the  evening.  Port 
Hatch  was  like  a  tomb. 


THE  BOOMERS.  831 

"Come  on  up,  Colonel,"  Burmah  said,  as  he  threw 
the  switch  inside  the  doorway,  and  flooded  the 
stairs  with  light.  "It's  come  to  a  place  where  me 
and  you've  got  to  have  a  talk." 

The  Colonel,  after  consulting  his  watch,  meekly 
followed,  and  they  entered  the  club-rooms  that  Hub- 
bard had  decorated  with  such  interest,  and  where, 
but  a  few  months  before,  there  would  have  been  at 
this  hour  a  convivial,  prosperous  crowd  of  men. 
The  steward,  last  remaining  unit  of  a  little  force 
that  had  dwindled  away  to  the  four  corners  of  the 
world,  aroused  himself  sleepily,  and  came  forward 
to  do  their  bidding.  Burmah  observed  that  the 
man  looked  tired,  and  commented  on  the  fact. 

"I  am  Mister  Jones,"  the  steward  said.  "What 
with  being  the  only  servant  in  the  Club,  Sir,  and 
doing  all  the  janitor  work,  as  well  as  what  little 
else  there  is  to  do,  it  gets  monotonous." 

"Well,  suppose  you  get  us  something  to  drink, 
something  long  and  cool,  and  then  go  to  bed,"  Bur- 
mah suggested.  "I'll  turn  out  the  lights  when  we 
go." 

"Thank  you,  Sir,"  said  the  steward,  taking  the 
order  and  slipping  noiselessly  away  to  fill  it. 

Burmah  and  the  Colonel  settled  into  the  com- 
modious chairs,  which  had  been  provided  by  the 
latter  in  the  days  of  his  affluence,  and  waited,  each  ab- 
sorbed in  thought.  The  Colonel  drummed  absently 
on  the  table  beside  his  chair,  and  Burmah  leaned 
far  back,  and  stared  at  the  dark  beams  above  him, 
at  the  paneled  walls,  and  the  massive,  wrought-iron 
lamp  that  swung  from  the  ceiling  by  heavy  chains, 
Lester's  contribution  to  the  room.     He  said  nothing 


332  THE  BOOMERS. 

until  after  the  steward  had  bade  them  good-night, 
and  then  looked  keenly  at  the  Colonel  to  discover 
his  mood,  and  spoke: 

"Colonel,"  he  said,  "does  it  strike  you  that  we 
haven't  sold  a  single  lot  since  the  day  we  knew  that 
Seattle  was  to  get  the  road?" 

"I  didn't  know  it;  but  I  reckon  that  must  be 
about  so,"  the  Colonel  reluctantly  admitted. 

"And  I  guess  you  must  also  have  figured  that  we 
ain't  goin'  to  sell  any  more,  haven't  you?"  Bur- 
mah  asked. 

The  Colonel  roused  himself,  and  scowled  at  the 
glass  ^he  held  in  his  hand. 

"Maybe  we  won't,  now;"  he  said,  "but  they'll 
sell  some  time,  sure !  It's  got  to  come !  Port  Hatch 
has  got  to  be  a  city.     Nothing  can  stop  her." 

Burmah  tolerantly  flipped  an  ash  toward  a  tray, 
and  prepared  himself  for  an  argument.  His  native 
tact  and  diplomacy  were  summoning  themselves  to 
his  desire. 

"Quite  right,"  he  said,  softly;  "but,  in  the  mean- 
time, it  strikes  me  we  ought  to  get  away  from  here, 
and  keep  busy  somewhere  else." 

The  Colonel  did  not  answer.  Burmah  surmised 
that  perhaps  his  listener  was  fearful  lest  he,  also, 
was  going  to  desert. 

"Not  that  I'll  go  if  you  won't,"  he  said,  to  as- 
suage any  fear  the  Colonel  might  have;  "but  that, 
if  you'll  go,  I  think  we  ought  to.  I'll  take  care 
of  them  that's  stuck  here,  so  that  they'll  have  a 
chance  to  come  out  even,  or  ahead.  You  can  leave 
Uncle  Jeff  and  his  woman  to  look  after  the  villa, 


THE  BOOMERS.  888 

and  you  and  me'll  go  somewhere,  and  make  some 
money." 

"Make  money?"  the  Colonel  repeated.  "A  gentle- 
man can  make  money  anywhere,  Sir,  if  he  makes 
such  a  pursuit  his  ambition.  But  leave  Port  Hatch? 
Why,  say,  Burmah!" 

He  leaned  across  the  table,  and  fixed  his  eyes 
on  his  companion,  and  raised  his  voice  to  an  em- 
phatic protest. 

"I'd  not  leave  Port  Hatch  to  make  a  million  some- 
where else !  I'll  not  leave  it,  if  I'm  the  last  man  left 
here,  and  have  to  tend  my  own  truck  patch  to  get 
turnips  to  eat !  If  no  one  else  in  the  world  believes  in 
her,  and  loves  her,  I  do, 'and  I'm  going  to  keep 
on.  Why,  Burmah,  this  town's  named  after  me. 
The  very  name  stands  for  sticking  right  through  to 
the  finish.  Hatch!  Port  Hatch!  And  dog-gone 
me,  Sir — you  don't  think  I'd  desert  her  just  because 
a  lot  of  short-sighted,  pusillanimous,  yellow-souled 
folks  ran  away  at  the  sound  of  the  first  gun,  do 
you?" 

With  declamatory  hands,  intent  brows  and 
vibrant  voice,  he  went  on  with  a  tirade  that  lasted 
for  a  full  five  minutes,  betraying  his  irritation,  as 
well  as  the  undercurrent  of  desperation  that  filled 
his  being,  day  and  night ;  and  Burmah  waited  until, 
exhausted,  the  Colonel  stopped  to  drink. 

"But,  Colonel,  I'm  not  askin'  you  to  abandon 
Port  Hatch,"  he  said,  mildly.  "All  I'm  askin'  of 
you  is  that  we  go  to  some  place  while  there's  a 
little  money  to  be  had,  and  make  some  more  money, 
to  take  care  of  her  until  she  comes  back  into  her 
own  again.    I've  got  some  money  left." 


334  THE  BOOMERS. 

The  Colonel  abruptly  slipped  his  trembling  hand 
over,  and  laid  it  on  Burmah's  arm.  His  voice  was 
husky  with  feeling  when  he  spoke. 

"Burmah,"  he  said,  determinedly,  "you  know  that 
I  haven't  got  to  a  point  where  I'd  accept  a  dollar 
for  nothing  from  a  friend.  You  are  a  friend!  I 
thank  you,  Sir,  for  your  offer;  but  I  couldn't,  and 
wouldn't,  do  that.  And  I  couldn't  leave  here.  I 
think  I'd  die  if  I  did.  I'd  think  of  her,  back  here 
on  the  hill,  alone,  with  the  grass  crawlin'  in  like 
a  slow  thief  in  the  night,  to  blanket  her  pavements 
like  a  grave.  I'd  remember  the  flowers  wiltin'  away 
around  what  had  been  homes,  and  turnin'  their  faces 
up  to  the  sky.  Why,  Burmah,  every  one  of  them, 
every  bird  that  makes  its  nest  in  our  trees,  would 
talk  to  one  another,  and  say,  'Hatch?  Where's 
Colonel  Hatch.?  Why  don't  he  come  back?'  No, 
Sir,  I  can't  go!" 

There  was  almost  a  wail  in  the  Colonel's  voice 
as  he  closed,  and  Burmah  saw  that  the  man  had 
broken  more,  even,  that  he  had  appreciated.  Swift 
to  change  his  arguments,  he  took  a  new  tack. 

"Well,  Colonel,  you  know  that  I'm  a  mighty  poor 
business  man,  unless  I  have  you  to  advise  me. 
S'pose  I  go  away  from  here,  and  find  some  new  busi- 
ness, and  write  you  for  advice  when  I  need  it,  and 
send  you  your  share  of  the  money?  How  about 
that?" 

The  Colonel  shook  his  head,  and  smiled  sadly. 

"I  couldn't  do  that,"  he  declared,  "much  as  I'd 
like  to ;  because  I'm  too  plagued  busy  here.  I  wish 
for  your  sake,  too,  that  I  could,  because,  of  course, 
I   admit,   with  due   modesty,  that   I  have   made   a 


THE  BOOMERS.  335 

great  study  of  high  finance.     But  you  could  do  the 
same!     Any  gentleman,  if  he  but — " 

"Oh,  I  know  all  that.  Colonel,"  interrupted  Bur- 
mah,  "but  you  owe  me  a  start  in  life,  you  know. 
I  can't  do  nothin'  without  havin'  you  around.  Now, 
don't  say  no  to  me  again  until  you've  had  time 
to  think  it  over.  I'm  in  no  hurry.  Say  next  week. 
How'U  that  do.f^  Then  me  and  you  could  go  some- 
where, and  get  into  some  other  deal,  and  make  a 
wad,  and — why.  Lord,  Colonel! — maybe  we'd  get 
enough  to  come  back  here  and  start  old  Port  Hatch 
ahead  again  just  like  wildfire  in  a  prairies  grass !" 

The  Colonel  wavered  for  an  instant,  and  seemed 
again  on  the  verge  of  refusing;  but  Burmah  pre- 
vented him  from  doing  so.  In  his  own  mind,  he 
had  the  idea  of  enlisting  all  the  pressure  that  could 
be  brought  to  bear  by  Arabella,  Little  Billy,  Hub- 
bard, Tommy  and  Pick,  to  gain  his  purpose,  wildly 
philanthropic  as  it  was.  Lest  the  Colonel  make  his 
decision  irrevocable,  he  shifted  the  conversation  to 
marble  opera-houses  and  new  animals,  and  a  dozen 
other  trivial  topics,  then  almost  shoved  the  Colonel 
out  of  the  door,  and  bade  him  good-night.  He 
watched  him  out  of  sight,  after  which,  with  a  hope- 
less shake  of  his  head,  he  returned  upstairs  to  the 
Club  to  think,  as  he  had  thought  thousands  of 
times  in  the  preceding  months,  if  there  were  not 
some  way  out  of  the  whole  disaster  by  which  he 
could  compel  the  Colonel  to  make  a  little  profit. 

The  club-rooms  were  so  still  that  the  silence 
would  have  been  oppressive  to  one  of  weak  nerves; 
but  he  was  unmindful.  He  walked  to  the  side- 
board, and  made  another  drink  for  himself,  fumbled 


336  THE  BOOMERS. 

around  until  he  found  a  cigar  that  suited  him, 
punctiliously  signed  a  tag,  and  returned  to  his  seat. 
The  glass  was  poised  in  his  hand,  when  he  heard  a 
noise  below,  the  sharp  grating  of  a  key,  the  open- 
ing of  the  hall-door,  and  steps  bounding  up  the 
stairs.  He  turned  with  a  smile  on  his  face,  expect- 
ing to  see  Little  Billy,  or  Pick,  and  then  the  smile 
died  away,  and  gave  place  to  a  cold,  indifferent 
look:  for  Lester,  grave,  intent  and  staring,  stood 
in  the  arched  way. 

"Well,  Mister  Jones,"  he  said,  scarcely  concealing 
the  sneer  in  his  voice,  "you  seem  to  have  the  Club 
to  yourself.     Strike  you  as  rather  lonely?" 

"Not  until  you  came,"  affably  retorted  Burmah, 
"But  I  suppose  bad  company's  better  than  none, 
after  all." 

"Thanks !"  grinned  Lester,  amused  in  spite  of 
himself.  "I  understand,  from  that,  you're  glad 
I'm  here." 

"Not  at  all,"  replied  Burmah,  lighting  his  cigar, 
and  apparently  at  his  ease.  "I'm  only  glad  that 
you  didn't  come  sooner;  because  I'm  just  about 
ready  to  go  home." 

Lester  smiled  sardonically,  and  deliberately  took 
the  seat  the  Colonel  had  vacated,  while  Burmah  sat 
as  motionless  as  an  image,  striving  to  appear  un- 
aware of  Lester's  presence. 

"I'd  rather  you  didn't  go  until  I've  had  a  talk 
with  you,"  Lester  said,  lighting  a  cigar  for  himself, 
and  talking  between  puffs. 

"Fire  away  then,"  invited  Burmah,  still  motion- 
less. 

"I  suppose,"  said  Lester,  with  the  same  sarcastic 


THE  BOOMERS.  337 

affability,  "that  I'm  the  only  man  in  Port  Hatch 
that  was  next  to  you." 

"I  rather  think  that's  true,"  replied  Burmah, 
entirely  without  heat. 

"And  I  rather  think,  also,  that  you're  the 
only  man  that  had  anything  to  do  with  Port  Hatch, 
who  saved  anything  out  of  it." 

"Right  ag'c  n!"  declared  Burmah.  He  turned  his 
head  until  he  faced  Lester,  and  looked  at  him  with 
his  keen  eyes.  "Do  you  know,  Lester,"  he  said, 
"that  I  sort  of  like  you  because  you're  so  devil- 
ish smart  and  impertinent!  Not  that  I  want  to, 
(J J.  that  I  don't  want  to,  but  just  because  I  do." 

Their  eyes  fought  a  duel  for  a  full  quarter-minute, 
but  neither  gave  in. 

"You  think  I'm  a  crook,  and  a  swindler,  don't 
you,  Lester.?"  Burmah  asked. 

"Yes,"  fearlessly  replied  the  younger  man;  "I 
do." 

Burmah  did  not  appear  in  the  least  disturbed; 
rather,  he  seemed  suddenly  thoughtful,  and  as  an 
evidence  began  chewing  his  cigar  in  the  old  vigor- 
ous way. 

"I  sort  of  like  you  for  that,  too — for  bein'  un- 
afraid to  say  what  you  think,"  he  said,  as  if  to 
himself;  and,  for  some  reason  that  he  could  not  in 
the  least  define,  Lester,  strong,  and  self-confident 
as  he  was,  felt  that  he  had  come  unexpectedly  into 
contact  with  a  most  masterful  man,  who  might  after 
all  prove  his  superior.  The  knowledge  was  disturb- 
ing. The  egotism  of  youth  accepts  mental  buffets 
reluctantly.  He  was  more  than  ever  convinced  that 
he  had  underestimated  the   adventurer,  when  Bur- 


338  THE  BOOMERS. 

mah  suddenly  whirled  in  his  chair,  threw  his  cigar 
into  the  tray,  faced  him  with  eyes  that  were  steely 
in  their  clarity,  and  spoke. 

"I  also  want  to  say  that  you're  damned  impudent, 
and  young,  and  that  I'm  goin'  to  talk  to  you  about 
somethin'  that  you  may  remember,  sometime,  and 
that'll  make  you  a  little  more  charitable.  The  heads  of 
some  men  could  be  improved  by  pullin'  and  stretchin', 
or  shapin'  them.  What  yours  needs  is  broadenin'. 
It's  too  narrow.  Sit  down!  Don't  get  excited!  I 
wouldn't  talk  if  I  wanted  to  fight.  I've  shot  men 
for  less  than  you've  said  to  me.  There's  no  reason 
why  I  should  talk  to  you,  Lester,  except  that  I  like 
you,  after  a  fashion." 

Lester,  who  had  started  to  his  feet  with  an  angry 
scowl,  dropped  back  into  the  chair,  and  glared  at 
Burmah,  wondering  what  else  of  a  humiliating  nature 
this  strange  fat  man  would  have  to  say;  and  Bur- 
mah, quietly  relaxing,  put  the  tips  of  his  fat  fingers 
together,  and  talked  as  if  to  the  lamp  suspended 
above,  the  soft  rays  of  which  fell  downward  over  his 
sparsely  coated,  gray  head.  It  was  then  that  Lester, 
as  if  recovering  from  blindness,  discovered  some- 
thing in  its  shape,  a  suggestion  of  terrific  power, 
a  definite  air  of  prodigious  strength,  which  he  had 
not  hitherto   observed. 

"My  father,"  said  Burmah,  "was  a  turfer.  I 
don't  guess  you  know  what  that  is.  It's  a  man  who 
took  up  land  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  in  the  West, 
and  was  so  devilish  poor  that  he  had  to  make  a  hole 
in  the  ground,  and  cover  it  with  turf,  like  the  animals 
do,  to  keep  himself  sheltered  from  blizzards  and 
rain.     I  was  born  in  the  bottom  of  the  wagon  that 


THE  BOOMERS.  339 

he  drove  to  Kansas  from  southern  Illinois.  My 
mother  died  when  I  was  eight  years  old,  and  all  the 
education  I  ever  had  was  what  she  taught  me,  as 
best  she  could,  there  in  that  sod-house.  Pop  and 
I  buried  her  out  back,  and  it  was  winter,  and  I  cried 
because  I  was  afraid  she'd  be  cold  out  there  under 
the  snow." 

He  stopped  for  a  moment,  but  his  voice  was  as 
level  as  ever  without  emotion  when  he  continued. 

"There  was  a  fight  over  the  survey  and  my  father 
and  four  others  tried  to  keep  their  land,  even  when 
a  Sheriff's  posse  of  fifty  men  tried  to  put  'em  off. 
There  was  a  lot  of  shootin'.  The  rifles  banged  in 
our  turf-house  till  it  was  full  of  smoke,  and  Pop 
told  me  to  lie  down  on  the  floor  where  the  air  was 
better.  By-and-bye,  one,  then  three  others,  were 
layin'  there  beside  me!  but  they  weren't  there  for 
air.  They  had  no  more  need  for  it.  I  think  Pop 
was  the  last  on  his  feet,  loadin',  aimin',  and  firin'. 
Just  that,  except  when  he  missed,  and  swore  because 
the  ammunition  was  runnin'  out.  Then,  all  of  a 
sudden,  my  father  reeled  around  the  room  a  minute 
with  his  hands  held  out,  and  then  came  to  his  hands 
and  knees,  and,  when  I  screamed  to  him,  crawled 
quite  slowly  over  till  he  got  his  arms  around  me. 
After  a  while  they  found  us  that  way;  but  Pop  was 
dead,  and  I  was  cryin'  a  little,  and  huggin'  him, 
and  talkin'  to  him,  and  beggin'  him  to  answer — for 
I  loved  him.  He  didn't  though.  When  the  Sheriff 
opened  the  door,  I  asked  him  to  help  me.  And  the 
Sheriff'  stood  there,  and  the  doorway  was  filled  with 
heads.  I  could  see  because  the  smoke  had  cleared 
some,  and  the  Sheriff  said,  'Well,  I'll  be  damned  l' 


340  THE  BOOMERS. 

That  was  all.  They  had  the  land — that  is,  all  ex- 
cept six  pieces  of  it,  about  three  by  seven  each,  that 
my  mother,  my  father,  and  the  four  others  held, 
and  stiU  hold." 

Lester,  who  had  gradually  leaned  forward,  breath- 
less, gave  a  subdued  exclamation;  but  Burmah  did 
not  heed  it. 

"I  was  sent  to  a  poor-house.  The  superintendent 
was  a  brute.  I  always  promised  that,  when  I  grew 
up,  I'd  kill  him;  but  I  didn't.  He  beat  me  to  it 
by  dyin'.  Pneumonia,  it  was,  and  he  croaked.  The 
supervisors  bound  me  out  to  a  rancher,  and  he  ham- 
mered it  into  me  that  there  was  nothin'  in  the  world 
worth  while  but  money;  that  no  human  bein'  was 
worth  more  than  could  be  got  out  of  his  hide ;  that  a 
man  who  had  any  sympathy  for  anything,  or  looked 
for  anything,  but  the  almighty  dollar,  was  a  sucker. 
So  he  helped  educate  me  that  way,  not  in  books, 
until  I  got  big  enough  to  run  away." 

He  chuckled  a  little  as  if  at  some  recollection, 
and,  still  without  looking  at  Lester,  proceeded. 

"I  couldn't  do  it  now^  but  I  got  to  be  a  pretty 
fair  horse-wrangler,  and  I  was  quick  with  my  hands, 
and  wasn't  afraid;  so,  after  a  while,  the  cook  of 
our  outfit  took  an  interest  in  me,  and  taught  me 
how  to  work  the  three  cards  and  the  shells,  just  for 
the  fun  of  it.  When  I  got  paid  off,  and  had  learned 
to  drink  two  men's  share  of  rotten  booze,  and  went 
broke,  I  remembered  what  the  cook  had  taught  me, 
and  it  seemed  a  heap  easier  than  climbin'  on  top 
of  a  thousand  pound  of  livin',  fightin',  strikin'j 
bitin',  buckin'  broncho.  I  didn't  have  anything 
in  the  way  of  morals,  or  conscience,  or  fear.    A  bad 


THE  BOOMERS.  841 

combination,  Mister  Lester!  Bad!  There  was  no 
friend  to  tell  me  any  better.  The  only  ones  I  had 
were  the  saloon-  and  gamblin'-house-keepers.  The 
only  enemies  I  had  were  the  jailers,  and  some  of 
them  weren't  so  rotten,  either.  But  after  a  while 
I  drifted  East,  and  saw  that  there  were  bigger  games, 
and  I  got  into  'em.  Then  I  found  out,  and  was 
surprised,  that  there  was  ways  of  gettin'  the  money 
without  goin'  to  jail,  and  I  didn't  like  jails,  nohow. 
I  had  a  dangerous  gift.  I  don't  quite  know  what  it 
was;  but  I  could  talk  to  a  man,  and  tell  him  I  was 
goin'  to  skin  him,  and  laugh  in  his  face,  and  get 
his  money.  Lots  of  'em  liked  me.  I've  made  honest 
money,  and  I  got  so  I  liked  honest  money  better. 
But  I  didn't  stop,  when  luck  played  against  me,  to 
make  the  other  kind.  And  I  studied  a  lot,  too,  tryin' 
to  get  so  I  could  talk  to  the  big  fish  without  ex- 
posin'  my  ignorance.  I've  made  some  big  deals  that 
were  fair,  and  some — just  some — ^that  wasn't." 

He  turned  again,  and  pulled  his  chair  around 
until  he  faced  Lester,  and  now  he  emphasized  his 
words  with  one  hand  striki^ig  the  other,  and  from 
the  shadow  cast  by  the  lamp's  base,  and  the  black 
wainscoated  walls,  against  which  background  his 
head  appeared  firm  and  strong,  his  eyes  seemed  to 
shine  with  the  intensity  of  his  mind. 

"Lester,  there  were  ten  years  of  my  life  when,  if 
any  man  had  come  to  me,  and  been  half-way  decent, 
and  encouraged  me  to  do  the  right  thing  only,  I'd 
have  done  it,  and  gone  to  hell  for  him  if  I  had  to !  It's 
true,  so  help  me  God!  You  came  in  here,  and 
sneered  at  an  old,  gray-headed,  tired  crook;  but 
you  never  put  your  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and  said, 


342  THE  BOOMERS. 

*01d  chap!  It  ain't  the  right  road  to  travel.  I'll 
help  jou  along  another.'  Not  you,  because  you're 
young,  and  ignorant,  and  don't  see  the  other  side. 
You  condemn  'em  for  their  acts,  and  don't  try  to 
help  'em  for  their  future.  Why,  Boy,  for  that's  all 
you  are — they're  all  around  you — men  who  never 
had  a  chance!  men  who  don't  know!  men  who  like 
to  do  the  right  thing,  but  can't  find  the  way !  You've 
sneered  at  me.  It  ain't  your  fault,  but  I'm  better 
than  you,  a  whole  lot!  Because  I've  helped  some 
of  the  wrong  ones  to  turn  right !  I've  made  money, 
lots  of  it,  and  'most  always  I've  given  it  away,  crook 
that  I  am,  no  preacher,  no  missionary,  no  humani- 
tarian— just  a  man  who  was  strugglin'  along  in  the 
only  way  he  knew,  crooked  if  need  be  and  without  con- 
science, but  honest  if  it  didn't  cost  the  game.  Crook 
that  I  was,  I'm  better  than  you,  who  probably  was 
never  tried  out,  and  probably  never  will  be,  because 
I've  helped  a  few  of  'em  when  help  was  needed." 

Strangely  enough,  Lester  had  a  feeling  that  he 
had  been  petty  and  mean,  and  was  now  confronted 
with  the  truth.  He  fought  against,  and  yielded  to, 
an  unaccountable  admiration  assailing  his  mind  for 
this  man  whose  past  was,  confessedly,  devious. 

Burmah  sighed,  arose,  walked  out  to  the  bar, 
brought  back  another  long  glass  of  some  light  drink, 
and  readjusted  his  chair. 

"Well?"  questioned  Lester,  as  if  there  had  been 
but  a  slight  pause  in  the  conversation. 

"Well,  what.?"  asked  Burmah  without  looking  at 
him. 

"What  else.?" 

"Nothin',  only  this :  You're  young ;  I'm  old.    I've 


THE  BOOMERS.  343 

told  you  all  this  so  that  you'll  stop  and  think, 
whether  you  want  to  or  not,  before  you  condemn 
a  man  without  givin'  him  a  chance.  I've  told  it 
to  you  so's  you'll  think  it  over,  and  see  if  it  isn't 
a  heap  better  to  have  an  ounce  of  charity  than  a 
pound  of  self-righteousness."  He  got  up  from  his 
seat,  and  stood  in  front  of  Lester,  and  shook  his 
finger  at  him. 

"Look  here !  You  don't  like  me !  You  were 
smart  enough  to  size  me  up!  But  I  liked  you  just 
the  same,  and  do  like  you,  and  am  goin'  to  tell 
you  somethin'.  I  started  in  on  this  game  of  Port 
Hatch  to  get  what  I  could  and  get  away.  I  got 
to  know  the  Colonel,  and  his  daughter,  and  the  boys 
from  Chattanooga,  and  Hubbard ;  and  I  was  hungry 
— yes,  Sir — hungry  to  have  them  keep  on  likin'  me. 
They  all  did.  They  believed  in  me!  They  trusted 
me!  Old  Todd  did,  too.  And  I'll  swear  to  you 
that  I've  never  taken  a  crooked  cent  from  any  of 
'em  since  the  town  started,  and  that,  if  I  could  do  it, 
I'd  give  'em  every  dollar  I've  got!  I'd  give  all 
I've  got,  and  half  the  rest  of  my  life  chucked  into  the 
pot,  if  I  could  undo  all  I've  ever  done,  and  be  just 
what  they  are,  folks  with  clean  lives  behind  'em. 
Folks  that  ain't  ashamed  of  anjrthing  they've  ever 
done!  All  my  life  I've  played  for  a  pot  of  gold, 
and  won  to  find  it  counterfeit.  The  real  gold  in 
life,  the  kind  that's  not  coined  in  mints,  the  gold  of 
self-respect,  I  let  slip  by,  and  now,  when  it's  late 
— so  late — I  know !    That's  where  I  stand !" 

He  banged  his  clenched  fist  on  the  table,  and  stared 
defiance  at  Lester,  as  if  challenging  him  to  doubt 
the  assertion.     And  Lester,  looking  at  him,  believed 


344  THE  BOOMERS. 

it.  A  strange  and  dazzling  temptation  came  to  him, 
overpowered  him,  and  made  him  stand  up  before 
Burmah,  and  look  squarely  down  into  the  little 
giant's  eyes. 

"How  far,"  he  almost  whispered,  "  how  far  would 
you  go  to  prove  this?" 

"To  the  limit!"  came  the  explosive  response. 

"What  would  you  do  if  I  came  to  you  and  said: 
'Mr.  Jones,  I'll  show  you  that  the  Atlantic  and 
Oriental  Railway  will  come  to  Port  Hatch?'  What 
would  you  do,  I  say?" 

For  a  long  time,  Burmah  looked  up  at  him,  and 
then  said,  with  a  hoarse  earnestness: 

"You  make  me  believe  that,  and  I'll  take  every 
dollar  I've  got  in  the  banks,  and  buy  back  Port 
Hatch  land  on  a  busted  market,  and  buy  it  back 
in  the  names  of  Colonel  Hatch  and  his  daughter! 
You  make  me  believe  that,  and  I'll  make  them,  and 
Todd,  and  every  one  of  the  boys,  and  all  who  have 
stuck  here  by  the  game,  rich ! — rich,  I  tell  you !" 

"But  what  of  you,  Burmah  Jones?"  Lester  asked, 
in  that  same  enthralled,  curious  whisper,  which 
echoed  hollowly  around  the  empty  club-room  in  which 
they  stood. 

Burmah  turned  from  him  with  a  short,  harsh 
laugh.  He  walked  slowly  to  the  other  side  of  the 
table,  then  faced  Lester  with  both  hands  outspread, 
palms  upward,  as  if  already  he  had  emptied  and 
cleansed  them  of  pelf. 

"What  does  that  matter?"  he  asked.  "What  am 
I?  Nothing!  I  can  go  ahead  on  the  plan  I  laid 
out  for  myself  just  about  three  months  ago.  What 
that  is,  don't  matter  to  you.     There  are  all  sorts 


THE  BOOMERS.  345 

of  things  a  man  like  me  can  do.  I  can  go  back  to 
New  York,  and  peddle  gold  bricks  if  I  have  to, 
until  the  prison  furnishes  me  a  home.  I  can  go 
away,  anyhow,  if  Port  Hatch  can  make  good,  knowin' 
that  back  out  here  in  this  corner  of  the  world  is 
one  little  set  of  people — good  people — honest  ones, 
who  believe  in  me,  and  love  me,  and  would  grieve 
if  they  heard  that  I  had  gone !  That  alone,  Lester, 
would  make  me  richer  than  I've  ever  been!  By 
God,  it  would!" 

Lester  came  to  the  table,  and  leaned  over  on  his 
knuckles,  and  bent  his  head  beneath  the  old  wr ought- 
iron  lamp,  and  thrust  his  jaw  forward,  and  looked 
the  emphatic,  Napoleonic  little  fat  man  straight  in 
the  eyes. 

"Do  you  know  why  the  railway  didn't  come  here.?" 
he  asked,  cutting  his  words  off  with  distinct  preci- 
sion. 

Burmah's  eyes  opened  wider,  as  if  with  long-spent 
curiosity,  and  he  said : 

"No.     Do  you.?     If  you  do,  tell  me." 

"Because  on  that  Board  of  Directors  were  three 
men  that  you  had  practically  swindled  out  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars,  years  ago !  Because  when  the  poor 
old  Colonel,  harassed  by  their  demands,  said  he 
wanted  to  consult  you,  and  mentioned  your  name, 
they  swore  they  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  you, 
or  anything  with  which  you  were  concerned.  And 
he,  brave,  loyal,  lovable  old  man  that  he  is,  turned 
down  their  proposition,  defied  them,  cursed  them, 
knowing  when  he  did  it  that  he  was  breaking  him- 
self— yes,  breaking  himself  and  the  town — in  your 
defense !" 


346  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmali  lifted  trembling  hands  before  bim,  as  if 
to  shield  himself  from  the  lash  of  Lester's  words, 
and  staggered  back,  slowly,  step  by  step,  his  feet 
dragging  over  the  carpet,  until  he  struck  a  chair. 
It  toppled,  wavered,  and  with  a  crash  fell  on  the 
hard,  polished  floor  beyond  the  edge  of  the  rug. 
For  an  instant  he  paused,  then  reeled  back  against 
the  wall  as  if  for  support.  His  legs  appeared  to 
tremble  beneath  him,  and  he  threw  a  hand  up  and 
clung  to  the  plate  rail  to  support  himself,  gasped, 
reached  up,  and  caught  his  collar  with  the  other 
hand,  and  with  a  mighty  wrench  tore  it  open,  cravat 
and  all,  from  his  throat.  The  purple  died  from 
his  face  to  be  succeeded  by  a  ghastly  pallor,  and 
he  suddenly  lunged  forward,  with  both  hands  shak- 
ing in  front  of  him,  as  if  appealing  to  Lester  for 
some  word  of  mercy. 

"Lester — Lester — "  he  stammered  in  a  harsh,  dry 
whisper — "are  you  sure.^  How  do  you  know.^^  Don't 
pile  it  on!  The  Colonel — the  Colonel  was  whipped 
through  me?  Tell  me  it  isn't  true.  Boy!  Tell  me 
you're  only  bluffin'  me — that  I'm  not  the  one  to 
blame !" 

He  came  to  the  edge  of  the  table,  and  bent  for- 
ward to  study  his  companion's  face  for  what  seemed 
a  long,  long  time.  And  at  last,  as  if  he  had  read 
the  truth,  he  fell  weakly  back  into  a  chair.  Lester 
pitied  him  then,  and,  after  one  instant's  hesita- 
tion, rushed  to  his  side,  and  bent  over  him.  He 
caught  the  glass  from  the  table,  and  held  it  toward 
him;  but  Burmah  brushed  it  away.  He  regretted 
that  he  had  told  Burmah  what  he  had  learned,  for 
he  had  not  realized  that  this  strange,  immobile  ad- 


THE  BOOMERS.  347 

venturer  was  a  man  living  behind  a  masque ;  that  back 
of  his  habitual  calmness  was  a  tempestuous  spirit  and 
that,  crook  as  he  had  been,  he  had  poured  out  idol- 
atry at  the  shrine  of  the  Colonel  and  those  he  loved. 
He  had  not  understood  that  this  wandering  cynic 
had  come  to  regard  those  faithful  ones  as  children 
whom  he  was  bound  to  protect,  and  that  his  one 
source  of  comfort  had  been  that  he  was  not  respon- 
sible for  the  final  blow,  which  spelt  ruin  for  them 
all. 

Slowly  Burmah  recovered,  and  sat  with  brooding 
eyes,  as  Lester,  giving  him  time,  walked  backward 
and  forward  in  the  room.  Then  the  younger  man 
paused  in  front  of  the  older,  and  put  a  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"Listen,"  he  said.  "I  think  I  know  a  way  by 
which  it  can  be  done.  I  think  I  know  an  influence 
that  may  yet  bring  that  road  here — to  Port  Hatch. 
You  said  you'd  buy  the  land  and  buildings  back, 
if  you  thought  that  were  so,  and  put  them  in  their 
names.    How  much  money  have  you  got?" 

Burmah  was  active  again,  the  old  fire  in  his  eyes, 
the  old  grip  of  himself  returning.  He  gathered 
his  forces  as  if  for  his  last  battle,  pitifully  fight- 
ing to  clarify  his  brain,  and,  when  he  lifted  his 
head,  he  quite  steadily  answered: 

"Almost  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  all  in 
cash,  all  available." 

He  got  to  his  feet,  seemed  to  further  steady  him- 
self, and  without  a  single  note  of  excitement  in  his 
voice  said: 

"You  show  me  where  there's  a  chance,  a  gambling 
chance,  and  I'll  put  in  every  dollar  of  it !" 


348  THE  BOOMERS. 

"I  can  show  you  the  chance,"  asserted  Lester, 
overawed  by  the  man's  nerve  and  fidelity,  and  com- 
pelled to  pay  him  respect.  "I  can  convince  you 
there  is  a  chance." 

"Then,"  said  Burmah,  the  calculating  business 
man,  the  general  of  finance  once  more,  "we'll  have 
to  move  fast.  You  don't  trust  me;  but  I  do  you. 
I  can't  do  it  alone,  because  it  would  take  too  much 
time  and  attract  attention,  so  you've  got  to  take 
one  hundred  thousand  of  that  money,  and  go  out 
and  buy.  Buy  in  the  name  of  the  Colonel.  Buy 
everything  that  can  be  had.  We  must  buy  the  town 
back !  Buy  it  back  for  them.  I  want  to  do  some- 
thing for  Todd  and  Schmidt — and  for  the  old  widow 
who  runs  the  store.  And  for  Hubbard,  and  the  boys. 
Leave  that  to  me." 

He  stepped  vigorously  before  Lester,  and  spoke 
in  his  old,  imperious  voice. 

"Now,  it's  up  to  you — up  to  you,  I  say,  to  show 
me  how  you  think  it  can  be  donel" 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

BEFORE  SAYING  FAREWELL. 

It  was  the  candid  opinion  of  Little  Billy  that 
everyone  in  Port  Hatch  had  gone  a  little  mad, 
and  in  a  grumbling,  rumbling  voice,  he  expressed 
his  conclusions  to  Pick,  who  sat  on  the  end  of  a 
paste-daubed  table,  and  grinned. 

"In  the  first  place,  I  found  out  to-day  that  Ara- 
bella has  got  herself  engaged  to  Lester.  She  ac- 
cepts him,  and  will  doubtless  marry  him,  because 
she  does  whatever  she  makes  up  her  mind  to  do, 
and  turns  down  all  the  rest  of  us  that  went  to 
school  with  her,  and  pulled  her  pigtail  at  parties, 
and  fought  for  her.  Who  is  he?  I  don't  know; 
you  don't  know;  she  doesn't  know.  He  tells  her  not 
to  worry  about  his  ability  to  support  her  in  a 
modest  way,  although  he  is  afraid  he'll  have  to  go 
to  work  to  patch  out  his  allowance.  That  shows 
that  he's  mad,  because  he's  never  been  out  of  Port 
Hatch  since  we  came  here,  and  the  hardest  work 
any  of  us  know  of  his  doing  is  to  bait  his  own  fish- 
hooks, and  mix  his  own  drinks.  So  Arabella's  mad, 
or  she  wouldn't  have  accepted  him.  There's  another 
proof  that  Lester's  gone  dippy,  because  the  first 
thing  he  does  after  getting  himself  engaged  is  to 
announce  that  he  expects  to  leave,  within  a  few  days, 
for  a  month's  absence.  The  Colonel's  mad  because 
he  suspects  that  Burmah  wants  to  quit  him,  and  all 
the  rest  of  us,  and  desert  Port  Hatch.  And  Bur- 
mah's  got  some  new  quirk  in  his  noodle,  because 
he's  been  shut  up  in  his  room  for  two  days,  work- 

349 


350  THE  BOOMERS. 

ing  over  something,  and  walking  up  and  down  the 
floor,  and  whistling.  What  do  you  think  of  that? 
Whistling!    Himl" 

Pick  gravely  agreed  with  Little  Billy  that  they 
and  Tommy  were  doubtless  the  only  sane  persons 
in  what  was  left  of  the  town.  And,  if  there  was  any 
doubt  of  Burmah's  lunacy,  they  were  to  be  con- 
vinced before  they  were  through  talking  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  that  gentleman  in  person,  walking 
briskly,  with  hat  well  down  on  the  back  of  his  head, 
and  a  mere  rag  of  a  cigar  protruding  from  between 
his  lips.     In  his  hand  he  carried  a  sheet  of  paper. 

"Hello,  Boys !"  he  said  by  way  of  greeting.  "You 
don't  seem  very  busy.  Well,  I'll  try  to  find  some- 
thin'  for  you  to  do  pretty  all-fired  soon.  We're 
goln'  to  hit  some  high  spots  mighty  quick  now." 

He  seated  himself  at  the  table,  and  laid  his  sheet 
of  paper  before  him,  and  they  saw  that  it  was  covered 
over  with  his  minute  handwriting,  with  many  pain- 
ful erasures  and  alterations,  betokening  much 
thought  and  care  in  its  preparation. 

"Now,  pay  attention,"  he  said,  "because  I  may 
leave  for  Seattle  to-day,  or  to-morrow  at  the  latest, 
and  I  won't  have  a  whole  lot  of  time  to  talk  to 
you  before  I  go.  I  want  you  two  boys  to  go  over 
this,  and  fix  up  the  grammar  and  the  spellin',  so's 
I  won't  make  a  monkey  of  myself  when  I  send  it 
out.  Then  I  want  about  fifteen  hundred  circular 
letters  made  out  of  it.  It'll  be  your  job  to  fill  in 
the  realty  lot  numbers  there — where  you'll  see  a 
blank.  Fill  'em  in  with  pen  and  ink.  Then  mail 
one  to  each  man  that's  pulled  out  of  Port  Hatch, 
and  left  his  address  behind.     Of  course,  all  of  'em 


THE  BOOMERS.  851 

have.  The  postmaster'll  tend  to  that  part  of  it. 
Now,  here's  the  next  important  thing.  I  don't  want 
the  Colonel,  or  Arabella,  under  no  circumstances, 
to  get  wise  to  this.  They  ain't  to  know  that  these 
letters  are  bein'  sent  out,  because  the  Colonel  would 
get  right  in  with  both  feet,  and  tip  the  whole  kettle 
of  fish  into  the  ashes.     Bring  me  up  the  proofs." 

He  got  to  his  feet,  and  hurried  back  to  his  rooms 
with  all  his  former  zest,  as  if  time  were  of  the 
utmost  importance,  and  they  took  the  paper  between 
them  and  read  it  with  gasps  and  exclamations.  They 
made  the  few  necessary  corrections,  and  then  read 
it  over  again,  aloud,  and  questioned  more  than  ever 
whether  Burmah  were  still  quite  sane.     It  read: 

Dear  Sir: 

You   are   the   owner   of  Lot  Plat 

as  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Registrar 

of  Port  Hatch.    You  have  it  listed  with  the 
Port   Hatch   Land   Company    for    sale   at 


I  am  in  receipt  of  information  that 
leads  me  to  believe  there  is  a  strong  prob- 
ability that  we  shall  be  able,  despite  its 
announcements  to  the  contrary,  to  induce 
the  Atlantic  &  Oriental  Railway  to  make 
this  city  its  terminus.  I  have  not  permis- 
sion to  give  the  sources  of  my  information, 
but  can  assure  you  that  I  believe  them 
trustworthy,  and  entitled  to  the  fullest 
credence.  Indeed,  so  firm  are  my  own  con- 
victions on  the  subject,  that  /  frankly 
advise  you  not  to  sell.     If,  however,  you 


352  THE  BOOMERS. 

still  desire  to  dispose  of  your  property 
at  the  ridiculously  low  price  offered, 
Colonel  Alonzo  Fairfax  Hatch  will  pay  you 
that  sum  in  cash  on  receipt  of  deeds  trans- 
ferring the  property  jointly  to  him  and  his 
daughter,  Miss  Arabella  Hatch.  This  offer 
stands  for  thirty  days  from  date,  but  inas- 
much as  the  number  of  deals  may  prove 
so  many  as  to  tax  the  Colonel's  resources 
(should  there  be  many  foolish  enough  to 
close  out),  you  are  respectfully  requested 
to  give  us  an  immediate  answer.  Address 
or  see  me  at  the  Company's  offices  in 
Seattle. 

Again  urgently  advising  you  to  keep 
your  property  and  to  withdraw  it  from  the 
market,  and  renewing  the  assurance  of  my 
firm  belief  that  we  shall  eventually  get  the 
railway,  I  am. 

Sincerely  yours, 

BuRMAH  Jones. 

Little  Billy  threw  the  sheet  on  the  table  with  a 
jeer  of  contempt. 

"Now,  what  in  the  deuce  will  anybody  think  who 
gets  that?"  he  demanded. 

"That  the  Colonel's  gone  off  his  trolley,  and  that 
Burmah  is  trying  to  boost  the  town  again,"  grinned 
Pick. 

"But  the  funny  part  of  it  to  me  is  that  it  looks 
as  if  Burmah  means  business,"  insisted  Little  Billy. 
"And,  say,  that  isn't  all!  Do  you  know  that  the 
Colonel's  flat  busted,  and  has  been  for  two  or  three 


THE  BOOMERS.  8S8 

mbhtlis  ?  Why,  he  hasn't  got  a  cent !  He's  either 
got  hold  of  some  money,  or  else  Burmah's  putting 
it  up  for  him." 

Pick  slapped  the  paper  with  his  hand,  and  ex- 
pressed his  opinion. 

"The  Colonel  doesn't  know  a  thing  about  it,  and 
neither  does  Arabella.  That's  why  Burmah  was  so 
femphatic  about  it's  being  kept  a  secret.  Burmah's 
money  is  doing  it,  and  by  having  the  deeds  made 
jointly  he's  fixing  it  up  so  that  the  Colonel  can't 
squander  it  all  over  again.  The  Colonel  can't  ever 
dispose  of  any  of  it  without  her  consent." 

He  carried  the  copy  out  to  the  printer  to  be  set 
up,  and,  when  he  returned.  Little  Billy  had  departed, 
heading  straight  for  Burmah's  seclusion.  Burmah 
was  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  working  over  numerous 
calculations,  when  Little  Billy  entered  and  sat  down. 

"BUrmah,"  he  said,  "you  told  me,  once,  never  to 
ask  you  any  questions;  but  I  just  can't  help  it. 
Are  you  sure  that  railway  is  coming  here.''" 

"Billy,"  said  Burmah,  quietly,  "I'm  bettin'  my 
last  dollar  on  it.  And,  what's  more,  I  advise  yoii 
boys  to  buy  all  you  can  handle.  There's  nothin' 
sure  in  this  world  till  it's  done.  Of  course,  there's 
a  chance  that  I'm  fooled,  and  that  there  will  never 
be  a  road  here  while  any  of  us  are  alive  to  hear 
its  engines  toot;  but  I'm  bettin'  there  will  be." 

"But  where  on  earth  is  the  Colonel  going  to  get 
the  money  to  buy  back  this  land?"  queried  Little 
Billy,  with  anxious  solicitude. 

Burmah  suddenly  became  engrossed  in  his  figures 
again,  and  then  said,  without  looking  up: 

"I  guess  you  kno#  Arabella's  gone  and  ehgaged 


354  THE  BOOMERS. 

herself  to  that  man,  Lester,  don't  you?  Maybe 
he's  got  money.  I  don't  know.  And,  anyhow,  it's 
none  of  my  business.  Only,  neither  the  Colonel,  nor 
Arabella,  is  to  know  anything  about  that  letter. 
You  understand  that!" 

He  turned  and  scowled  at  Little  Billy,  and  then 
continued  his  work. 

"It  strikes  me  you'd  better  go  and  get  a  hustle 
on  yourself.  Look  up  those  lists.  Don't  dawdle 
around  and  waste  time  guessin'.  Just  do  what 
you're  told." 

"It's  his  money,  just  the  same!"  doggedly  mut- 
tered Little  Billy,  as  he  went  back  to  the  offices. 
"But,  by  Jingoes !  any  gamble  that's  good  enough 
for  him  will  do  for  me.  And  I'll  tell  Pick  and 
Tommy  what  he  said.     Hang  Kirby!     He  quit  us." 

All  day  long,  and  until  late  in  the  evening,  Bur- 
mah  Jones  made  hasty  visits.  And  everywhere  he 
went  he  talked  to  those  of  the  faithful  who  had 
not  deserted  Port  Hatch,  and  always  the  talk  was 
the  same;  to  cling  to  their  property,  to  buy  more 
if  they  wanted  to  risk  the  advent  of  a  railway, 
which  he,  Burmah  Jones,  was  convinced  would  come, 
and  never  to  lose  their  grip.  In  a  few  instances, 
this  was  varied  a  trifle,  and  those  cases  were  with 
the  widow  who  lived  across  the  street  from  his 
rooms,  and  still  watered  her  flowers  and  tended  the 
little  shop — the  elder  Todd  and  Herr  Schmidt.  To 
each  of  these  he  offered  to  lend  money,  and  urged 
them  to  accept  it,  for  the  purchase  of  lands.  And 
each  did  accept,  wondering  in  the  meantime  at  the 
generosity  of  the  man  who  had  never  been  known 
to  be  either  a  spendthrift,  a  dreamer,  or  anything 


THE  BOOMERS.  355 

but  the  hardest,  closest  kind  of  a  financier.  For 
Hubbard  also  he  drew  a  cheque,  and  gave  him  cau- 
tion and  advice.  He  found  time  to  write  a  list 
of  names  of  big  foreign  land-holders  who  had  bought 
for  purposes  of  speculation,  and  to  draw  a  cheque 
for  Lester  for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
these  he  carried  with  him  to  Marquard  Villa,  and 
delivered  to  Lester  late  that  evening.  He  occupied 
his  room  in  the  villa  that  night,  and  for  a  long 
time  looked  out  of  the  window  before  retiring,  won- 
dering, dully,  whether  he  should  ever  again  enter 
it,  and  was  once  more  filled  with  a  homesickness  that 
almost  amounted  to  a  heartache. 

"Well,"  he  said  to  himself  before  he  went  to  sleep, 
in  a  queer  combination  of  comment  and  prayer,  "if 
I've  been  a  fool,  and  everything  goes  smash,  I'll 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  done  my 
best.  A  month'll  tell  the  story.  And  Lord,  if  You 
have  made  a  sucker  of  me  because  I  deserve  it, 
and  are  goin'  to  put  me  in  the  scrap-heap,  be  easy 
on  the  Colonel  and  Arabella,  and  the  rest  of  'em, 
because  they  ain't  done  nothin'.  Just  take  it  all 
out  on  me.    Amen !" 

And  neither  the  Colonel  nor  Arabella  suspected, 
when  he  bade  them  good-by  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, that  he  had  no  intention  of  returning  to  Port 
Hatch  until  the  fight  was  decided,  for  better  or 
for  worse;  but  there  was  a  tired,  worn  look  in  his 
thoughtful  eyes  that  impelled  Arabella  to  come 
swiftly,  put  her  arms  around  his  neck,  and  kiss 
him  as  he  turned  away,  and  she  did  not  know  that 
as  he  trudged  down  the  street  he  walked  blindly, 
because  his  eyes  were  filled  with  unaccustomed  tears. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

BUT   FATE  INTERVENES. 

The  thirty  days  mentioned  by  Burmah  in  his 
circular  passed,  and  seemingly  everything  in  Port 
Hatch  was  unchanged  and  waiting.  On  that  very 
day  of  final  grace,  Little  Billy,  summoned  by  the 
Kansan  to  Seattle,  returned  on  the  boat,  carrying 
with  him  a  suit-case  filled  with  deeds  that  were  to 
be  put  on  record  now  that  Burmah's  desire  to  keep 
the  Colonel  in  ignorance  was  removed.  The  news- 
papers had  ignored  his  circular  letter,  having  con- 
cluded that  this  was  nothing  more  than  a  scheme 
to  advertise  Port  Hatch,  which  no  one  but  a  lunatic 
could  hope  to  resuscitate.  And  the  latter  conclusion 
had  been  the  one,  also,  of  some  thousand  others  who 
had  invested  in  that  ill-fated  town  when  it  was  on 
the  boom,  and  they  had  jumped  at  the  offer  of 
Burmah  Jones,  and  gleefully  accepted  what  they 
got,  and  charged  the  monies  lost  to  the  profit-and- 
loss  accounts  on  their  books.  Still  others  had 
written  him  personally  before  selling,  and  had  been 
induced,  by  his  replies,  to  hold  on  a  while  longer. 
He  was  playing  his  game  honestly,  from  start  to 
finish,  and  had  not  time  to  waste  over  his  own 
change  of  heart.  He  accepted  that  as  he  had 
everything  else  in  life,  considering  all  yesterdays 
dead,  and  all  past  actions  irrevocable.  His  resolution 
to  be  honest  was  frequently  tested  as  by  fire,  and 
his  patience   suffered  now  and  then;   but   he   kept 

356 


THE  BOOMERS.  85T 

grimly  in  the  path  that  he  had  laid  for  his  future 
steps,  and  did  not  swerve.  He  sat,  now,  with  a 
feeling  of  utter  relief;  for  on  that  day  his  work 
was  done,  for  better  or  for  worse. 

The  door  opened,  and  in  came  Lester,  whom  he 
had  not  seen  in  all  the  interim,  smiling,  well  groomed, 
and  less  tanned  than  on  that  evening  when  Bur- 
mah  had  bidden  him  good-by  after  handing  him  the 
lists  and  cheques. 

"Well,"  said  Burmah,  after  greeting  him  in  his 
restrained  way,  "I  understand  from  your  letters  that 
you  made  good." 

"Yes,"  replied  Lester,  "I  did.  I've  got  the  deeds 
for  all  of  it  in  my  grip.  I  bought  all  that  I  was 
told  to  buy,  and  was  short  but  eleven  hundred  dollars. 
I  paid  that  out  of  my  own  pocket." 

Burmah  wheeled  in  his  chair,  and  took  out  his 
cheque-books.  He  figured  for  a  minute,  his  pen 
scratched  across  the  blanks,  and  he  turned  and 
handed  Lester  five  slips  of  paper. 

"Sorry  to  have  to  cut  it  up  that  way,"  Bur- 
mah said,  apologetically;  "but  the  fact  is  that  I, 
too,  have  made  good.  Those  cheques  clean  me  out. 
I've  got  just  two  hundred  dollars  left  in  the  banks, 
and  seventeen  in  my  pocket." 

A  shade  of  pity  crept  into  Lester's  eyes,  and  he 
held  the  cheques  out  again  toward  the  Kansan. 

"Better  keep  them,"  he  said.  "I  can  stand  a 
part  of  it,  I  think.  You'll  need  more  money  than 
you've  got." 

"No,"  answered  Burmah,  resolutely;  **I  never 
start  to  do  a  thing,  and  change,  unless  I  have  to. 
My  part  of  the  big  play  of  Port  Hatch  is  over 


858  THE  BOOMERS. 

with,  no  matter  how  she  goes.  I  see  that  Board 
of  Directors  arrived  here  again  this  morning.  The 
newspapers  are  gloatin'  over  it." 

"Yes,"  answered  Lester. 

"And  you're  go  in'  to  see  'em?" 

"Yes.  I  shall  see  them  at  once,  and  do  what  I 
can  to  influence  them." 

"And  do  you  think  you've  got  your  pull  to  work 
so  they'll  reconsider?" 

Lester  smiled  enigmatically,  appeared  on  the 
verge  of  saying  something  regarding  what  he  hoped 
to  do,  and  then  said: 

"Yes,  perhaps.     Never  can  tell." 

Burmah  sat  quietly  in  his  chair,  stocky  and  im- 
perturbable, apparently  unruffled  by  the  fact  that 
this  day  was  to  decide  whether  all  his  efforts  in 
the  Colonel's  behalf,  and  his  own  ruin,  had  been 
mere  folly.  He  seemed  to  have  nothing  more  to 
say,  and  Lester,  watching  him,  felt  the  same  admira- 
tion that  had  come  to  him  on  that  night  in  the 
Club.  He  fought  a  desire  to  try  to  break  down  the 
man's  barrier  of  reserve,  to  make  him  express  some 
of  the  thoughts  that  must  be  running  rampant  be- 
hind the  steady,  unwavering  eyes;  to  stir  him  from 
that  stolid  pose,  unbending  as  fate. 

"You'll  hear  from  me  to-morrow,"  he  said,  at  last, 
after  the  silence  had  become  so  prolonged  as  to 
be  embarrassing,  and  arose  to  make  his  departure. 

"All  right,"  Burmah  answered,  without  the  move- 
ment of  a  muscle  and  without  looking  up.  "Wish 
you  luck!" 

That  was  all.  No  emotion,  no  tremor  of  voice, 
no  twitching  of  the  hands,  head,  or  body.    The  door 


THE  BOOMERS.  359 

closed  as  Lester  went  out,  and  then,  quite  abruptly, 
the  fat  hands  went  into  the  air,  and  shook  them- 
selves, the  bulky  body  writhed,  and  Burmah  said 
between  shut  teeth: 

"Win,  Boy — win!  You've  got  to  win!  You've 
got  to!" 

In  the  same  suite  of  rooms  from  which  the 
Colonel  had  departed  so  tempestuously,  months  be- 
fore, on  the  day  of  doom,  sat  the  same  Board  of 
Directors,  who  guided  the  destinies  of  the  great 
Transcontinental  railway;  but  there  was  a  singular 
and  noticeable  change  in  its  members'  demeanor. 
They  talked  nervously,  and  argued,  and  were  em- 
phatic, angry,  or  sullen,  as  their  individualities  ran. 
They  were  in  the  midst  of  it,  when  the  door-man 
entered,  and  announced: 

"Mister  Lester  Ford,  Gentlemen."  ...  A  strange 
hush  succeeded  their  subdued  clamor. 

Into  the  room,  firmly,  with  stiffly  set  head  and 
cold,  determined  eyes,  came  the  man  known  to  those 
of  Port  Hatch  as  Lester. 

"Gentlemen !"  he  said,  bowing  gravely  from  right 
to  left.  As  if  by  one  impulse,  they  stood  to  their 
feet,  and  the  redoubtable  Thornton  himself,  grown 
almost  obsequious,  tendered  a  chair  by  his  side  at 
the  head  of  the  table. 

"I  was  extremely  sorry,"  Ford  said,  without  wast- 
ing words  on  greeting,  "to  cause  you  the  incon- 
venience of  coming  here  to  Seattle  to  hold  this  Board 
meeting;  but  I  deemed  it  best  to  do  so  for  certain 
reasons  of  my  own." 

They  bowed  and  waited  for  him  as  if  paying  the 
respect  due  a  king. 


360  THE  BQQMIB^S. 

"All  of  you  know  my  distaste  for  directly  inter- 
fering with  any  of  my  business  affairs,"  he  went  on, 
"and  that,  unlike  my  father,  I  have  no  special  desire 
to  pile  millions  on  top  of  millions.  Nor  have  I  that 
desire  now.  Let  me  see !  Some  months  ago,  you  de- 
cided to  make  Seattle  the  terminus  of  the  road  that  I, 
with  the  assistance  of  one  or  two  others,  have  been 
financing;  the  road  that  I  have  caused  to  be  con- 
tinued because  it  was  my  father's  pet  hobby  and  his 
life  hope." 

"That   is   true.  Mister  Ford,"   said  Thornton. 

"What  did  you  think  of  Port  Hatch?"  abruptly 
demanded  Lester  Ford,  eying  him. 

"Well,  we  went  up  there  and  looked  it  over,"  re- 
plied Thornton,  with  unusual  suavity. 

"So  did  I,"  asserted  Lester,  with  equal  calmness. 
"I've  lived  there  since  it  started." 

"Strange  we  never  heard  of  you  being  there," 
mused  Carleton,  as  if  surprised. 

"Not  so  strange,"  retorted  the  millionaire.  "I 
went  there  for  my  health,  and  for  my  own  pleasure. 
I  told  them  my  name  was  Lester,  because  I  didn't 
care  to  be  annoyed  merely  because  I  had  inherited 
money.  I  stayed  there  because — well — that's  my  per- 
sonal affair.  When  you  gentlemen  believed  I  was  in 
Europe,  I  didn't  happen  to  be  there.  That  is  all.  I 
know  all  about  Port  Hatch.  It  is  just  what  Burmah 
Jones  declared  it  was,  an  ideal  terminus!" 

Carleton,  Sprague  and  Thornton  sat  up  angrily. 

"Then  you  know  Jones,  also,  do  you?"  demanded 
Carleton. 

"Yes,  and  like,  admire  and  believe  in  hin^,"  ^q- 


THE  BOOMERS.  861 

clared  Lester,  with  a  pronounced  and  conclusive  de- 
fiance in  his  voice. 

They  started  to  speak ;  but  he  held  up  his  hand  for 
silence,  and  they  dared  not  protest. 

"I  know  all  about  your  last  meeting,"  said  Lester, 
significantly.  "There  happens  to  be  on  this  Board  of 
Directors  one  man  who  keeps  me  informed,  privately, 
of  everything  that  takes  place.  Not  that  I  do  not 
trust  you.  You  know  that.  Otherwise,  there  would 
not  at  this  moment  be  a  majority  of  this  Board  who 
vote  my  proxies,  and  are  thereby  elected  to  it." 

There  was  a  moment's  stillness,  broken  by  Thorn- 
ton, who  said,  as  if  stating  an  accepted  fact : 

"That  is  true,  Mister  Ford.     I  am  one  pf  them." 

"And,  by  the  way,"  said  Lester,  "three  pf  you 
gentlemen  here,  at  some  time,  were  victims  of  this 
Burmah  Jones,  I  understand.  There  is  no  need  for 
you  to  apologize  for  either  yourselves,  or  him.  He 
is  a  very  exceptional  and  plausible  man.  The  most 
exceptional  I  have  ever  known.  Froni  what  I  could 
learn,  he  has  been  worse  than  unscrupulous;  but  I 
know  absolutely — absolutely.  Gentlemen — -that  Mister 
Jones  regrets  all  that,  and  is  at  this  moment  as  noble 
a  man  as  ever  I  care  to  meet.  I  hope  to  win  his 
esteem,  his  loyalty,  his  affection.  There  is  none 
other  like  him  that  I  have  ever  known.  And  so  eag^r 
am  I  to  serve  him  and  his  wishes,  that  I  tell  you,  here, 
now,  that  I  will  personally  reimburse  any  man  at  this 
table  who  can  tell  me  the  sum  of  which  hp  was  de- 
frauded by  this  same  Burmah  Jones,  and  I  do  so  in 
the  firm  belief  that  Burmah,  when  he  knows  of  it,  and 
if  he  is  ever  able,  will  reimburse  me." 

At  this  brave  championship,  so  outspoken  and  sur- 


362  THE  BOOMERS. 

prising,  three  members  of  the  Board  sat  up  and  stared 
at  one  another,  and  then  back  at  the  millionaire  who 
had  offered  his  money. 

"However,  we'll  discuss  that  later,  in  private," 
said  Lester,  resuming  his  customary  attitude.  "What 
I  want  to  say  now,  is  this :  I  desire  the  announcement 
made,  and  carried  out,  that  the  A.  and  O.  will  run 
direct  to  Port  Hatch,  and  that  Port  Hatch  is  to  be 
its  main  seabord  terminal  on  this  Coast. 

From  all  around  the  table  came  protests  and  ex- 
clamations. 

"Why,  we  can't  do  that,"  insisted  Thornton,  losing 
a  little  of  his  temper.     "We  stultify  ourselves." 

"Of  course  we  do,"  declared  Carleton,  but  with  less 
belligerence.     "We've  told  them  that — " 

"Never  mind  what  has  been  told  them,"  interrupted 
Lester,  in  the  same  icy  tone  that  had  made  his  father 
before  him  the  most  feared  man  that  ever  dictated 
financial  terms  to  other  boards,  and  they  recognized 
there,  at  the  table  with  them,  that  same  imperious, 
fighting  spirit. 

"The  old  breed,"  whispered  one  man  at  the  lower 
side  of  the  table  to  his  neighbor. 

And  the  other  nodded,  and  whispered  back : 

"He's  got  the  whip-hand,  and  will  have  his  way. 
Look  out  for  storms  !" 

"But  I  have  announced,"  declared  the  choleric 
Thornton,  "that  the  road—" 

"I  said  it  didn't  matter  what  you  had  announced," 
blazed  Lester.  "Any  man  who  wants  to  fight  me 
in  this  proposition  can  have  the  privilege  of  resign- 
ing from  this  Board,  or  being  thrown  out  at  the 
annual  election,  which  takes  place  in  New  York  on 


THE  BOOMERS.  363 

the  fifteenth  of  the  coming  month!  I  say,  the  road 
goes  to  Port  Hatch!" 

"Gentlemen!  Gentlemen!"  cautioned  an  elderly 
and  pacific  man,  who  thus  far  had  not  spoken. 
"Mister  Ford  is  the  practical  owner  and  backer  of  this 
road.  In  a  sense  we  are  here  to  observe  and  defer 
to  his  wishes.  I  wish  to  offer  a  resolution  rescind- 
ing the  former  vote,  that  which  extends  our  line  to 
Seattle." 

"But  the  gain?"  protested  Thornton,  still  strug- 
gling to  hold  his  ground.  "Colonel  Hatch  made  us 
an  offer  of  certain  concessions." 

"We  ask  no  concessions,"  sharply  retorted  Lester. 
"This  road  can  afford  to  buy  what  it  wants.  And 
it  will  do  so.  Port  Hatch  alone  has  sufficient  ad- 
vantages to  justify  making  it  the  terminus.  Mister 
Chairman,  I  believe  there  is  a  motion  before  you." 

With  unconcealed  antagonism,  Thornton  askpd 
for  a  second,  got  it,  put  the  question  to  a  vote,  and 
announced  that  it  had  been  carried.  Instantly  a 
motion  was  offered  to  the  effect  that  the  Atlantic  & 
Oriental  Railway  select  Port  Hatch  as  its  terminal, 
and  through  the  proper  channels  instruct  its  pur- 
chasing department  to  enter  into  negotiations  to 
buy  the  requisite  lands  and  rights  of  way.  That, 
too,  was  carried,  with  Carleton  and  Sprague  not 
voting. 

"And  may  I  suggest,"  said  Lester,  although  his 
tone  carried  rather  command,  "that  the  Secretary 
be  instructed  to  send  out,  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  meeting,  an  announcement  to  the  Seattle  news- 
papers? I  think  it  will  be  sufficient  for  you.  Gentle- 
men," he  added,  slyly,  "if  you  embody  in  your  an- 


864  THE  BOOMERS. 

tiouncement  the  statement,  as  a  reason  for  the 
change  from  your  former  decision,  that  certain 
inducements  have  been  offered  in  favor  of  Port 
Hatch  that  cannot  be  overlooked." 

Thornton  gave  a  dry,  mirthless  grin,  and  told  the 
Secretary  to  attend  to  the  announcement. 

"That,  also,  I  trust,  will  enable  you,  Gentlemen 
of  the  Board,  to  'square  yourselves,'  as  my  friend, 
Burmah  Jones,  would  say,  with  the  interviewers," 
blithely  remarked  Lester  as  he  arose.  And  then: 
"Having  no  further  business  or  desire  to  interfere 
with  you,  I  think  I  shall  go  to  my  hotel.  If  any- 
one wishes  to  talk  about  his  personal  deals  with 
Burmah  Jones,  I  can  be  found  there  at  any  time 
to-day;  but  not  later,  because  I  expect  to  take  the 
morning  boat  for  Port  Hatch.  Gentlemen,  I  am 
pleased  to  have  met  you  all  again,  after  so  long  a 
time." 

He  bowed  from  his  hips,  and  moved  toward  the 
door*  He  had  already  opened  it,  and  started  out, 
when  he  remembered  a  further  instruction.  He 
stood  in  the  doorway,  as  he  spoke. 

"I  almost  neglected  to  say,"  he  said,  "that  I  wish 
to  preserve  my  incognito.  I  do  not  wish  that  my 
friends  of  Port  Hatch,  the  most  beautiful  little  city 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  I  fish  with  fishermen, 
hob-nob  with  a  Dutch  band-master,  argue  over  cock- 
tails with  a  bar-tender,  and  have  endeavored  to  learn 
to  play  a  steam  calliope  under  a  harsh  task-master, 
should  confuse  the  dawdler,  Lester,  with  the  far  less 
lovable  personage  of  Lester  Ford.  Gentlemen,  I 
wish  you  a  most  pleasant  journey  back  to  the  stone 
canons  of  the  Street  called  Wall.     Good-day!" 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  KNAVE   CONFESSES. 

With  that  strange  inconsistency  which  dominates 
the  actions  of  men,  the  wneel  reversed  itself,  and  the 
whole  world  seemed  to  turn  toward  Port  Hatch,  the 
"City  Beautiful,"  arisen  from  deathly  somolence,  and 
again  the  land  of  delight  for  the  home-seeker,  and 
the  adventurer  in  quest  of  fortune.  The  influential 
and  widely  read  evening  papers  of  Seattle  contained 
the  announcement  that  the  far-reaching  railway,  at 
the  last  moment,  had  been  compelled,  for  reasons 
that  were  known  to  itself  alone,  to  decide  on  Port 
Hatch.  And  in  that  marvelous  spirit  of  Seattle 
that  makes  of  every  man  a  sturdy  winner  or  a 
philosophic  unfortunate,  they  gracefully  acknowl- 
edged the  merits  of  the  rival  port,  and  wished  it 
success.  The  North-west  Coast,  boundless  in  wealth 
and  resources,  had  room  for  all.  Rivalry,  when  it 
developed  the  common  cause,  could  be,  after  all, 
nothing  more  than  friendly.  The  morning  papers 
congratulated  Port  Hatch  in  issues  that  were  carried 
on  boats  that  suddenly  resumed  their  old  schedules, 
and  that,  unexpectedly,  were  loaded  with  the  old' 
time  crowds,  seeking  the  new  city  of  promise.  Those 
who  had  clung  to  their  investments  in  this  strange 
city  congratulated  themselves  on  their  foresight,  and 
those  who  had  sold  stampeded  to  return  and  renew 
their  allegiance.  The  syndicate  that  had  been  deterred 
from  buying,  through  the  frankness  of  Burmah 
after  he  had  adopted  his  new  and  unyielding  course 
of  honesty,  came  clamoring  back  to  the  offices  of 
the  Port  Hatch  Land  Company,  and  there  met  its 

365 


866  THE  BOOMERS. 

old  rivals,  the  Conover  group,  who  looked  glum  and 
distressed  because  they  had  parted  with  a  golden 
opportunity.  Others  were  there  waiting,  who 
volubly  cursed  Burmah  Jones,  accused  him  of  having 
tricked  them  into  selling  their  holdings  at  a  loss, 
and  now  and  then  spared  a  word  of  condemnation 
for  the  Colonel.  All  of  which  caused  Billings,  busy, 
to  remark  that  it  "was  music  to  the  gamblers'  ears 
to  hear  the  loser  squeal." 

But,  through  all  this  reversal,  Burmah  Jones 
could  not  be  seen.  Anxious,  and  wondering  at  his 
disappearance.  Little  Billy  and  Tommy  came  to 
Seattle,  and  sought  him  on  the  third  day  after  it 
became  public  that  Port  Hatch  was  indubitably  des- 
tined to  be  a  great  city.  Like  the  indefatigable 
hound-dogs  of  their  native  State,  they  nosed  this 
way  and  that,  seeking  him.  At  his  hotel  they  knew 
nothing,  save  that,  on  the  morning  of  the  big  an- 
nouncement, he  had  paid  his  bill,  carefully  counted 
the  change,  and  delivered  his  baggage  to  a  taxi-cab. 
After  hours  of  patient  work,  they  ferreted  out  the 
taxi-cab,  and  were  informed  by  its  chauffeur  that  he 
had  taken  Burmah  to  an  obscure  lodging-house  down 
by  Smith's  Dock.  Thither  they  drove,  and  battered 
on  the  door  of  a  dingy,  decrepit,  weather-beaten 
structure,  plainly  a  relic  of  the  earlier  boom  days, 
when  Seattle  had  been  merely  transient.  A  frowsy- 
headed  girl,  who  chewed  gum,  and  fought  with  a 
wisp  of  unkempt  hair,  admitted  them,  and  pointed 
up  the  stairs. 

"Top  floor,  back,  I  think,  is  the  gent  you  want," 
she  said,  and  they  climbed  the  creaking,  dirty  steps, 
and  rapped  on  the  door  at  the  end  of  a  dark  hall. 


THE  BOOMERS.  367 

"Come  in,"  bade  a  weary  voice,  and  they  opened 
it,  and  entered. 

Seated,  as  if  utterly  tired  of  effort,  and  clothed 
in  his  gorgeous  bath-robe,  was  Burmah,  his  feet 
encased  in  carpet-slippers,  with  a  pile  of  papers 
scattered  on  the  floor  beside  him.  Everywhere  about 
him  was  confusion,  and  litter.  The  fragments  of 
torn  letters  were  over  the  ragged  carpet,  cigar-butts 
were  on  the  ledge  beneath  the  clouded  window-panes, 
and  the  remnants  of  sandwiches  were  carelessly 
bestowed  on  the  top  of  the  wabbly  dresser,  amidst 
silver  and  gold  toilet  articles.  A  cup  and  saucer, 
of  that  thickness  affected  by  boarding-houses  where 
such  implements  are  sometimes  used  as  weapons, 
were  on  top  of  his  bed,  indicating,  as  did  everything 
else,  that  for  at  least  two  days  he  had  not  been  out 
for  his  meals. 

"Hello,  Boys !"  he  greeted  them,  as  if  but  an  hour 
or  so  had  elapsed  since  last  they  parted,  and  this 
were  his  usual  environment.  He  did  not  even  rise 
from  his  chair,  or  extend  his  hand;  and  they  saw 
that  deep,  sharp  lines  had  twisted  themselves  across 
his  face,  and  hollows  were  under  the  eyes  that  had 
fearlessly  met  all  comers  and  all  vicissitudes.  Yet, 
still,  there  was  the  old  brave  pose  of  the  head,  the 
old  reckless  tilt  of  the  firm  chin,  the  old  steady  poise 
of  the  stocky,  powerful  body.  Nevertheless,  in 
him  was  the  suggestion  of  the  victor  vanquished. 

"For  God's  sake!  Burmah!  What  are  you 
doing  here?"  demanded  Little  Billy,  struggling 
against  a  boyish  desire  to  throw  his  arm  over  the 
shoulders  of  the  man  he  loved,  and  wished  to  embrace, 
boy-fashion. 


nm  THE  BOOMERS. 

Burmah  smiled  tolerantly  and  with  a  soft  display 
of  sadness  in  his  eyes. 

"Cleanin'  up  the  old;  gettin'  ready  for  the  new," 
he  asserted,  without  complaint.  "I've  always  done 
that — when  I'm  busted.  It  don't  pay  to  look  back, 
except  to  pick  out  the  mistakes,  so's  they  won't  be 
done  over  again." 

As  if  quite  intent  on  his  coUrse,  he  glanced  at  a 
letter  in  his  hand,  scowled  ever  so  slightly,  re-read 
the  first  few  lines,  then  tore  it  into  scraps,  which 
he  threw  to  join  the  other  waste  on  the  floor. 

"Well,  how's  Port  Hatch?"  he  asked,  as  if  merely 
making  conversation,  and  reaching  for  another  letter 
in  the  open  suit-case  beside  his  chair.  As  ifar  as 
his  words  or  voice  were  concerned,  he  might  have 
been  asking  for  the  welifare  of  some  place  that  he 
had  never  seen.     "Everybody  well?" 

"Burmah !  Burmah !  You  don't  intend  to  aban- 
don ii  like  this,  do  you?"  demanded  Tommy,  coming 
to  the  side  of  the  chair.  "Why,  inan,  they're  look- 
ing for  you,  everywhere!  The  Colonel  is  walking 
through  the  town  asking  for  you.  Lester's  there, 
and  bombarding  us  for  news.  Old  Todd  meets 
every  boat  with  the  Widow  Higgins,  who  prays  for 
yoii !  Arabella's  been  crying  because  she  thinks 
something  must  have  happened  to  you,  and  all  of 
them — Hubbard — Zo-Zo — Herr  Schmidt — ^everyone 
is  wondering  what  has  become  of  you.  They  sent  us 
down  here  to  try  and  find  you." 

For  an  instant,  Burmah  stared  blankly  at  the 
letter  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  a  twinge-,  as  of  mental 
pain,  whipped  across  his  face ;  but  he  made  no  reply. 

"You've  got  to  get  out  of  here,  and  go  back  with 


THE  BOOMERS.  369 

us,"  growled  Little  Billj.  "The  Colonel's  reception 
is  to-night.  It  would  kill  him  if  you  weren't  there. 
You  can  do  as  you  bloomin'  well  please;  but  you 
still  owe  something  to  the  rest  of  us — some  sign 
that  you  cared  more  for  us  than  just  the  love  of  the 
game." 

For  a  little  while  Burmah  sat,  with  fixed  brows, 
looking  at  his  feet,  as  if  considering  this  phase,  and 
then,  very  quietly,  he  stood  up,  and  said: 

"They  think  that,  do  they.?— that  all  I  cared  for 
was  the  fight  itself?  Well,  it  wasn't.  I  cared  for 
them.  I'll  go — go  back  there  to  the  Colonel's 
reception.  I  can  spare  time  for  that,  I  guess.  But 
it's  all  foolishness.  It's  wasting  time,  and  I  haven't 
a  lot  left.  I  feel  old.  I've  made  it  a  rule  to  always 
drop,  and  never  return  to,  the  finished  task.  A 
deal  finished  is  a  deal  done.  But,  if  they  think  I'm 
not  there,  and  am  leaving,  just  because  the  game's 
done,  I'll  go  back,  for  to-night;  but  for  to-night 
only." 

He  threw  off  the  bath-robe,  and  reached  for  his 
collar  and  tie ;  and  Tommy,  eager  to  help  him,  began 
gathering  the  things  from  the  dresser,  and  thrusting 
them  into  the  big  leather  bag  that  lay  open  on  the 
floor.  Little  Billy  held  Burmah's  coat  for  him,  and 
sensed  a  weakness  in  the  arms  that  were  obediently 
thrust  into  the  waiting  sleeves.  They  hustled  him 
out,  and  he  went  with  them  as  if  still  undecided,  and 
dazed  by  their  energy.  Little  Billy  stopped  behind, 
at  the  hall-way  door,  to  pay  the  bill  to  the  slatternly 
maid,  mzd  they  tumbled  into  the  waiting  taxi-cab, 
and  directed  the  driver  to  the  wharf. 

"Don't  wait  to  buy  tickets,"  shouted  Little  Billy, 


370  THE  BOOMERS. 

as  they  reached  the  end  of  the  dock,  and  heard  the 
boat's  warning  whistle;  "we'll  pay  the  purser." 
And  Burmah  ran  up  the  gang-plank  with  a  little  of 
the  old-time  haste  that  had  been  his  when  some- 
thing requiring  speed  was  to  be  done.  The  boat 
was  crowded,  and  there  were  many  who  came  to  greet 
him;  but  he  did  not  display  his  wonted  fire  and 
vivacity.  He  seemed  rather  like  one  who  assumes 
a  polite  interest,  and  wishes  to  be  alone.  Only  when 
they  came  in  sight  of  Port  Hatch  did  his  eyes  glowj 
and  his  hands  clasp  themselves,  and  his  attitude 
betray  his  yearning.  He  seemed  quite  the  old  Bur- 
mah when  he  walked  down  the  gang-plank.  He 
laughed  and  joked  with  those  who  met  him.  He 
shook  hands  with  the  Todd  brothers  as  if  they  were 
relatives,  and  waved  a  gay  salute  at  Hubbard  as 
the  latter  came  pushing  his  way  between  men  to 
greet  him. 

"I'll  go  up  to  my  old  diggin's,"  he  said  to  Little 
Billy,  "and  get  on  the  new  clothes  that  always  make 
me  so  devilish  uncomfortable." 

"No,"  protested  Little  Billy;  "no  use  in  doing 
that.  They  aren't  there.  Arabella  came  to  your 
rooms  two  or  three  weeks  ago,  and  packed  all  your 
stuff  that  you  had  left,  and  had  the  trunks  moved 
up  to  the  hill.     Everything  is  up  there." 

Burmah  frowned  as  though  vexed,  and  then  led 
the  way  determinedly  to  a  cab. 

"Well,  I  guess  there's  nothin'  else  to  do,  then," 
he  said,  "but  to  go  on  up." 

He  looked  interestedly  at  the  changes  that  but 
a  few  days  had  made.  As  the  cab  climbed  the  road 
cut  into  the  face  of  the  cliff,  it  passed  many  pedes- 


THE  BOOMERS.  371 

trians  who  greeted  him  respectfully,  and,  when  it 
turned  into  Main  Street,  Burmah  observed  that 
already  this  had  resumed  some  of  its  old  appear- 
ance, and  that  numerous  persons  were  bustling  along 
its  smooth  pavement.  The  widow  was  putting  in  a 
fresh  display  of  hats,  and  he  smiled  with  inward 
satisfaction  as  he  noted  that  her  face  looked  less 
careworn.  Several  carpenters  were  carrying 
supplies  from  the  shop  of  the  elder  Todd,  and  Bur- 
mah leaned  far  over  and  peered  into  the  open  door 
to  see  that  the  place  was  filled  and  business  brisk. 
Along  their  route  he  saw  houses  that  were  being  re- 
opened, and  gardeners  mowing  lawns  and  re-setting 
flowers.  Port  Hatch  was  alive  again,  and  making 
impatient  strides  to  overcome  that  lapse  wherein 
she  had  marked  time. 

"Bless  my  soul !  Why,  bless  my  soul !"  the  Colonel 
shouted,  as  he  rushed  through  the  door,  and  fairly 
embraced  Burmah.  "Lord,  Burmah!  What  on 
earth  ails  you  that  you  didn't  come  back  sooner? 
What's  wrong?"  he  demanded,  with  all  of  his  former 
exuberance. 

But  Arabella  brought  him  to  the  breaking  point  by 
tripping  down  the  steps,  and  throwing  herself  into 
his  arms.  She  chided  him  for  his  long  absence;  but 
he  could  not  speak,  for  his  heart-strings  were  being 
wrenched  as  by  a  mistaken  hand.  Lester  was  there, 
smiling  a  welcome,  and  his  hand  went  out  and  caught 
Burmah's  in  a  grip  that  hurt.  He  looked  almost 
blankly  up  at  Lester,  and  then  turned  away,  glad 
to  seek  the  room  that  had  been  his  since  Marquard 
Villa  had  supported  a  roof.  The  Colonel  followed 
after  him,  as   if   fearful  that  he  might  again  lose 


872  THE  BOOMERS. 

him,  and  Little  Billy  and  Tommy  refused  Uncle 
Jeff's  assistance  to  carry  his  meager  baggage. 

"Well,  Burmah,  I've  been  pinin'  for  you,"  the 
Colonel  declared,  when  they  were  alone.  "There's 
a  heap  of  business  I've  got  to  talk  to  you  about. 
One  thing.  Sir,  that  sort  of  puzzles  me,  is  where  all 
the  money  came  from  to  buy  back  the  lots." 

"Oh,  you  know  you  had  quite  a  balance  left  with 
the  Company  that  hadn't  been  turned  over,"  said 
Burmah,  shaving  himself  in  the  light  of  the  sun- 
set, but  without  looking  around. 

"But  I  don't  exactly  see  how  it  all  happened," 
insisted  the  Colonel.  "The  buying  in  of  all  that 
stuff  again !" 

"Why,  Colonel,  you  see  it  was  this  way,"  said 
Burmah,  still  addressing  himself  in  the  mirror.  "You 
weren't  there  to  talk  it  over  with  me,  and  I  didn't 
have  time  to  come  up  here,  when  the  pesky  boats 
stopped  runnin',  so  I  did  just  what  I  thought  you'd 
want  me  to  do  under  the  circumstances.  You  see, 
you've  suggested  so  many  things  to  me  that — " 

"By  George !"  declared  the  Colonel.  "I  don't  rec- 
ollect ever  tellin'  you  to  buy  the  property  back; 
but  I  reckon  I  must  have.  There  was  never  such  an 
assistant  as  you  are,  Burmah.  You  just  naturally 
take  the  words  and  the  ideas  right  out  of  my  mouth. 
Most  astounding  how  easy  it  is  for  a  gentleman  to 
make  money  when  he  starts  out  to  do  it !  And  that 
plagued  railroad!  It  had  to  come  here,  after  all. 
And  now  it  has  to  pay  me  for  the  land  that  I 
offered  it  for  nothing!  I  brought  those  hifalutin 
little  financiers  from  New  York  to  terms,  before  I 
got   done,   didn't  I?     That   is,   I   didn't,   but   Port 


THE  BOOMERS.  373 

Hatch  did !  They  had  to  come.  They  couldn't  get 
away  from  her,  Sir.  She's  the  greatest  city  in  the 
world.  She's  a  credit  to  the  Hatch  family,  Sir; 
and  long  after  you  and  I  are  dead,  folks  will  remem- 
ber us,  and  say  we  were  the  men  that  made  her. 
Maybe  they'll  give  us  a  monument,  Burmah.  Be  fine, 
wouldn't  it?  A  bronze  statue  with  you  and  me  on 
horses,  with  our  swords  held  up,  or  something  like 
that!" 

"I  never  used  a  sword  a  whole  lot,"  objected  Bur- 
mah. 

*T  wonder,"  said  the  Colonel,  thoughtfully,  "if 
they'd  think  it  immodest  if  I  were  to  have  that 
statue  made?  It'd  look  mighty  fine  out  in  front  of 
the  opera-house." 

"Sure  they  would,"  Burmah  declared,  hastily. 
"Couldn't  be  nothin'  worse  than  to  buy  one  for  our- 
selves." 

The  Colonel  changed  color  a  little  a.^  he  stood 
a  moment  in  thought,  and  appeared  downcast. 

"Do  you  know,  Burmah,"  he  said,  a  little  sadly, 
"I  fear  that  in  endeavoring  to  dp  honor  to  Miss 
Arabella,  for  which  I  admire  your  courtesy.  Sir 
— quite  like  you  to  want  to  be  gallant  to  a 
daughter  of  mine  and  such  a  charming  girl — you 
made  a  mistake?  I  find  her  the  most  stubborn  girl 
I  ever  knew  when  it  comes  to  signing  deeds  and 
such.  Why,  do  you  know,  Burmah,  she's  kept  me 
from  making  any  sales  at  all  since  things  changed? 
She  won't  sign  anything!  I'll  declare  she's  getting 
so  she  reminds  me  more  and  more  of  her  sainted 
mother.  I  loved  that  woman.  Sir,  and  honored  her; 
but,  sometimes,  she  was  so  stingy  that  I  used  to 


374  THE  BOOMERS. 

walk  out  back  of  the  house,  and  kick  a  dog,  just 
to  relieve  my  feelings.  I  did!  Ton  my  word  I 
did!" 

The  Colonel  retired  at  last,  after  telling  Bur- 
mah  to  come  down  to  dinner  within  ten  minutes,  and 
all  through  the  dinner-hour,  with  the  big  table 
widely  spread  and  the  little  family  around  him,  he 
rambled  gaily  on,  exuberant  over  everything,  and 
forgetful  of  the  dire  days  when  Port  Hatch  seemed 
dying.  So  long  did  he  delay  them  with  his  whim- 
sies that  the  guests  were  beginning  to  arrive,  and 
the  lights  glowed  over  the  lawns  of  Marquard  Villa, 
before  they  arose.  Burmah,  loathing  his  waiting 
dress-suit,  slipped  out  into  the  spacious  grounds, 
and  wandered  around  alone,  peering  now  and  then 
through  the  foliage  as  the  guests  appeared.  There 
they  came,  the  ones  that  had  stood  loyally  by  the 
"City  Beautiful,"  and  those  who  had  assisted  in 
her  making.  The  band  arrived,  with  its  full  force 
and  Herr  Schmidt  in  evening  dress  assuming  a  pro- 
prietary air,  as  befitted  a  man  who  had  become 
well-to-do  from  astute  speculation.  It  filed  sedately 
through  the  house  and  out  to  the  terrace,  where 
it  rattled  its  steel  music-stands,  tuned  its  instru- 
ments, and  then  burst  forth  into  a  march  of  triumph 
that  could  not  be  misinterpreted.  Burmah  realized 
that  he  must  slip  through  to  his  room,  and  dress 
himself. 

The  band  played  an  overture,  and  a  soft  melody 
of  spring.  The  crowd  increased  until  the  palace 
of  dreams  was  filled  with  well-dressed  men  and 
women,  all  happy,  all  gay,  all  laughing  and  talking ; 
and  yet  Burmah  Jones  did  not  appear.    The  Colonel 


THE  BOOMERS.  375 

went  through  the  process  of  shaking  hands  with 
each  arrival,  bowing  deeply  and  congratulating  each 
on  the  turn  of  fortune.  He  enthused,  and  mellowed 
and  expanded,  until  his  guests,  knowing  his  weak- 
ness, and  glad  to  humor  it,  called  upon  him  for  a 
speech.  He  stood  in  the  big,  hospitable  hall-way 
at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  smiling  warmly  at  them, 
a  kindly,  lovable  old  man,  courteous  and  handsome, 
as  true  cavalier  as  ever  was  painted  by  Meissonier. 
"Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  Port  Hatch,"  he  said 
as  the  noise  died  away  to  respectful  attention,  "I 
thank  you  all  for  the  honor  that  you  have  done 
me  and  mine,  and,  also,  I  thank  heaven  for  the 
blessed  privilege  of  again  greeting  some  of  those 
whom,  I  so  sadly  feared  through  the  dark  days  of 
misfortune,  I  should  never  see  again.  They  were 
dark  days,  in  which  the  candle  of  faith  was  sorely 
tried  by  the  chill  winds  of  doubt  and  adversity. 
Days  when  the  flowers  lost  their  bloom,  the  moon 
its  light,  and  the  sun  its  warmth.  And  yet,  my 
friends,  we  who  are  here  to-night  never  wavered. 
We  were  dwellers  in  the  heart  of  the  ideal,  fortunate 
participants  in  the  glories  of  the  greatest  of  Ameri- 
can cities.  Port  Hatch.  We  knew  that  she  would 
not  fail  us.  Clouds  might  obscure  her  star,  but 
always  the  star,  serene  and  undimmed,  shone  behind 
them,  beckoning  us  on,  voicing  through  its  disturbed 
rays  the  message,  sometimes  whispered  to  us  in  the 
stillness  of  the  drear  night  as  by  the  rustling  of 
the  clouds,  to  be  steadfast.  You  have  congratulated 
me  here  to-night,  many  of  you,  on  having  won  a 
victory;  and  I  cannot  with  truth  deny  that  I  have 
done  my  share  as  best  I  could;  but  it  seems  to  me, 


376  THE  BOOMERS. 

on  thinking  it  all  over,  on  reviewing  everything, 
that  the  one  man  to  whom  most  of  the  credit  is  due, 
is  my  partner,  my  beloved  friend,  the  friend  of  us 
all,  the  redeemer  of  Port  Hatch,  William  Burmah 
Jones !" 

The  shout  that  tore  upward  drowned  his  voice, 
and  he  waited  for  it  to  die  away.  It  was  as  if  he 
had  suddenly  recalled  the  truth  to  so  many  who 
stood  there  by  him,  and  all  of  them  now  sought  to 
make  amends  for  negligence  by  paying  tribute  to 
the  man  who  had  done  so  much. 

"Where  is  he?"  demanded  the  Colonel  of  Ara- 
bella, making  his  voice  heard  above  the  confusion. 
"Burmah !     Burmah  Jones  !" 

His  shout  was  taken  up  by  the  others,  until 
Marquard  Villa  rocked  with  its  turbulence.  Up  in 
the  room  at  the  head  of  the  noble  staircase,  Bur- 
mah heard  them,  and  opened  the  door,  and  stepped 
out.  He  halted,  and  looked  down  upon  them,  un- 
moved. 

They  lifted  their  hands  and  cheered.  Women 
fluttered  their  handkerchiefs,  and  Herr  Schmidt, 
jubilant,  rushed  madly  through  the  crowd  with  his 
queer,  broken,  "Eggscuse  me,  blease,"  and  called  to 
the  band  to  play,  "See  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes." 

Quite  slowly,  and  with  a  set  face,  Burmah  de- 
scended, and,  as  he  came,  lagging,  step  by  step, 
one  slow  foot  advancing  past  the  other,  they  dis- 
covered, with  surprise,  that  there  was  no  gladness 
in  the  clear  eyes  that  stared  down  on  them.  The 
face  above  them  was  as  a  death-masque,  cold,  im- 
mobile, unsmiling,  with  the  lips  compressed,  the 
strong  eyebrows  fixed,  the  nostrils  white  like  carved 


THE  BOOMERS.  377 

marble.  There  was  a  cold  majesty  in  his  deport- 
ment, blended  with  some  valiant  intent  that  radiated 
from  him  like  chill,  purposeful  rays.  A  woman's 
hand  that  had  bravely  fluttered  a  wisp  of  lace 
stopped  as  if  arrested  in  mid-air.  The  shout  of 
praise  strangled,  choked,  died,  in  the  throat  of  Little 
Billy,  who  stood  at  the  steps  with  hands  out- 
stretched in  the  blind  fidelity  that  he  had  conceived 
for  the  masterful,  grotesque  man  above.  Lester, 
whose  affection  had  grown  in  inverse  proportion  to 
the  dislike  he  had  previously  sustained,  halted  as  he 
left  Arabella's  side,  and  brushed  a  hand  across  his 
eyes,  as  if  seeing  behind  Burmah  some  tragic,  por- 
tentous figure.  The  Colonel  alone  smiled  affection- 
ately and  beckoned. 

Step  by  step,  resolute  and  slow,  Burmah  descended 
until  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  broad  stairs, 
where  he  halted,  and  raised  his  hand,  seeming,  from 
where  he  stood,  to  tower  above  them,  alone.  Herr 
Schmidt,  who  had  rushed  back,  suddenly  waved 
toward  the  window,  and  the  band  ceased  its  salute. 

The  man  above  waited  until  the  last  note  had 
died  away,  still  poised  on  the  carpeted  marble  stairs, 
still  holding  out  a  fat  hand  for  attention.  Tragedy 
was  in  his  appearance;  tragedy  dominated  in  the 
air.  Merriment  had  folded  her  wings,  and  slipped 
outside  where  the  night  birds  chirped  their  dis- 
turbed notes,  and  the  sound  of  the  waves  climbed 
faintly  upward  across  the  terrace  and  gardens  of 
Marquard  Villa,  the  palace  of  dreams.  Burmah's 
firm  lips  opened  twice  before  sound  issued  from  them, 
and  then  there  was  inflexible  command  and  profound 
melancholy  in  his  voice,  which  somehow  had  become 


378  THE  BOOMERS. 

musical  and  far  reaching,  as  the  tone  of  a  well-cast 
bell. 

"You  are  my  friends,"  he  said,  and  there  was 
something  of  pride  and  love,  unexpressed,  but  there, 
pregnant,  in  his  words:  "and  you've  called  for  me, 
to  tell  me  of  it,  and  to  say  things  that  I  can't 
accept.  I'm  done  with  pretense.  All  my  life  I've 
lived  a  lie!  I  lied  to  you  when  you  first  came.  I 
lied  to  you  afterward — ^to  all  of  you — save  Lester. 
He  knows !  I  used  you.  I  played  with  you  as  tools 
for  my  unworthy  hands.  I  was  a  hypocrite.  I 
never  knew  that  the  road  was  coming.  I  didn't  be- 
lieve that  it  could.  I  wasn't  fit  to  clean  the  streets 
over  which  your  trusting  feet  walked.  I  was  every- 
thing that  was  base,  and  mean,  and  mercenary. 
That  you've  made  money,  and  that  Port  Hatch  has 
made  good,  is  no  work  of  mine.  It  is  Lester's  and 
the  Colonel's — God  protect  him! — and  yours! 
You'll  hate  me  after  this;  but  I'll  be  true  to  my- 
self, and  I'll  go  away,  to  begin  over  again,  and 
maybe,  sometime  when  I've  proved  that  I'm  fit,  I'll 
come  back,  and  beg  you,  honest  ones  that  you  are, 
to  call  me  a  friend.  I  can't  now.  I  want  no  thanks 
from  you !    I  want  truth !    I  want — " 

His  voice  broke  suddenly,  and  his  arms  were 
flung  forward  as  if  in  appeal  for  some  little  por- 
tion of  their  respect,  yearningly,  desperately  im- 
ploring. His  lips  moved  without  sound,  and  he 
struggled  to  speak  his  unspoken  words.  Then,  as 
if  the  world  were  slipping  from  beneath  him,  he 
reeled  and  pitched  forward,  head  foremost,  and  fell 
crumpled  at  their  feet.  The  big  palm  at  one  side 
of   the   broad    steps    overturned.      There   were   the 


THE  BOOMERS.  879 

screams  of  women  and  exclamations  of  men  as  they 
rushed  forward  to  pick  him  up. 

In  an  awed  hush,  they  carried  him  back  up  the 
stairs,  down  which,  as  a  dominant,  forceful  man, 
he  had  so  lately  descended.  Into  the  room  they 
took  him,  where  all  his  pitiful  belongings,  everything 
he  had  in  the  world,  were  scattered  as  he  had  left 
them.  They  cleared  from  his  bed  the  gaudy,  taste- 
less, worn  suit  of  clothes  that  he  had  thrown  there 
in  the  haste  of  dressing  and  laid  him,  stark  and 
motionless,  on  the  counterpane.  A  doctor  thrust 
out  of  the  room  the  distressed  ones  who  had  fol- 
lowed, tore  open  the  crumpled  dress-shirt,  and  bent 
his  head  above  the  struggling  breast. 

"Colonel,"  he  said  turning  around  with  the  grave 
professional  look  that  so  seldom  lies,  "please  dis- 
miss your  guests.  And  will  you,  Pickett,  get  a 
nurse  at  once,  although  she  may  not  be  needed.'' 
She  may  be  too  late.  Mister  Todd,  would  you  mind 
getting  someone  to  run  to  my  home,  instantly,  and 
bring  my  emergency  case.?" 

He  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  in  the  silence  they  all 
leaned  toward  him  with  an  unspoken  question. 

When  he  spoke,  his  voice  was  like  a  knell,  soft, 
and  calm,  even  as  the  sighing  of  the  wind  after  a 
long  tempest. 

"I  am  afraid!"  he  said.  "I'm  afraid  that  our 
friend  is  leaving  us — leaving  us  on  a  longer  journey 
than  he  has  ever  taken  in  his  stormy  life." 

And  Burmah  Jones,  all  the  harsh  lines  gone 
from  his  face,  lay  before  them,  quiet  and  still,  as 
if  there  were  nothing  left  for  which  to  strive,  and 
no  Port  Hatch  to  mourn. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

TO    DWELL    WITH    HONOR. 

For  days  he  had  lain  in  coma,  and  for  days  there- 
after he  had  slept,  not  the  peaceful  sleep  of  the 
just;  but  the  sleep  of  the  warrior  who  fights  over 
red  and  hard-trampled  fields,  giving  and  taking 
blows.  Then  had  come  that  long  period  wherein 
he  convalesced,  slowly,  and  the  physician  watched 
and  wondered  at  the  splendid  vitality  of  that  prairie- 
bred  constitution  which  could  conquer  an  apoplectic 
attack,  and  in  those  slow  days  he  lay  silent,  star- 
ing at  the  ceiling  with  eyes  that  appeared  to  ques- 
tion some  shadow  out  beyond,  some  sphinx,  as  to 
the  meaning  of  it  all.  The  voices  that  came  to  him 
were  no  longer  restrained  to  faint,  awe-stricken 
whispers,  but  lent  themselves  to  jest  and  encourage- 
ment. Sometimes  he  smiled;  and  the  habitual 
cynicism  had  been  erased  from  his  firm  lips,  and 
the  smile  was  frank  and  free.  Sometimes  he  spoke, 
with  his  customary  brevity,  but  without  the  snap- 
ping sting  of  contempt.  And  wonder  and  interest 
grew  in  the  calm  gray  depths  of  his  tired  eyes, 
until  a  day,  some  three  months  after  the  Colonel's 
reception,  when  Lester,  Little  Billy  and  Arabella 
were  in  the  room.  They  had  been  talking  quietly, 
out  on  the  tiny  balcony,  when  the  nurse,  patient 
and  faithful,  called. 

"Mister  Jones  wants  to  speak  to  you.  Sir,"  she  said 
to  Little  Billy;  and  immediately  all  those  on  the 
balcony  hastened  to  Burmah's  side. 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "that  I'd  like  to  have  you 
move  me,  if  you  can,  and  carry  me  out  where  I 

380 


THE  BOOMERS.  881 

can  see  it  all.     I'm — I'm  hungry  to  look  out  once 
more." 

The  nurse  shook  a  doubtful  head,  but  he  did  not 
see  her,   and  went  on. 

"Been  sick  a  long  time,  ain't  I?" 

"Three  months,"   replied  Little  Billy. 

"Then  I'd  like  to  see  it,"  Burmah  appealed. 

They  carried  him  out  so  that  from  his  pillow  he 
could  look  down  over  the  sound,  the  beach  at  the 
water's  edge,  and  a  portion  of  Port  Hatch  that  lay 
spread  out  as  if  for  his  special  regard.  Great  ships 
were  down  by  the  docks,  some  of  them  sailing  ves- 
sels whose  spars  were  tinged  yellow  in  the  late 
afternoon  sun,  others  black  and  smoky  tramps  of 
the  sea,  squatting  like  tired  runners  after  a  long 
race.  Never  in  the  times  that  he  had  looked  at 
the  water-front  had  it  presented  such  a  view  of 
life.  Farther  up  on  the  shore,  men,  mere  specks  in 
the  distance,  worked  on  a  scaffolding  as  they  erected 
a  tall  red  smoke-stack.  In  the  very  corner  of  the 
view,  as  he  turned  his  head,  a  skeleton  steel  structure 
was  being  built,  and  the  faint  tattoo  of  riveting 
machines  seemed  to  find  echoes  from  the  big  breast- 
work of  hills  behind. 

"What's  that  stack  for?"  he  questioned,  with 
more  of  a  tone  of  interest  in  his  voice  than  they 
had  heard  in  months. 

"That's  the  stack  for  the  new  railway  shops," 
gloated  Little  Billy.  "They  say  we  owe  that  to 
young  Ford.  Wish  I  could  meet  him  and  shake  his 
fiht." 

Arabella  glanced  at  Lester  with  a  rare  admira^ 
tion,  and  Lester  merely  smiled. 


382  THE  BOOMERS. 

"And  that  steel  skeleton?"  asked  Burmah,  weakly 
lifting  himself  a  little  higher  on  his  pillow,  despite 
the  protests  of  the  nurse. 

"The  new  railway  station,"  answered  Little  Billy. 
"Great  stuff,  isn't  it?  By  Jove,  Burmah!  To  think 
of  it,  that  you've  never  seen  all  this,  and  don't 
know  about  it!" 

Burmah  said  nothing  for  a  long  time,  and  then 
looked  curiously  at  Arabella,  who  had  dropped  to 
her  knees  beside  the  head  of  his  bed,  and  from  her 
his  eyes  wandered  to  Lester. 

"I  suppose,"  he  said,  smiling  faintly,  "that  I  ain't 
been  polite!  I  never  was.  But  I've  tried.  I  guess 
I  should  congratulate  you.  Mister  Lester,  on  your 
marriage  by  this  time." 

"We  aren't  married  yet,"  said  Lester,  his  eyes 
softly  resting  on  Arabella's  head.  "I  wanted  it 
deferred,  Burmah  Jones,  until  I  could  make  the  only 
amends  of  which  I  am  capable,  by  having  the  most 
honorable  man  I  know  as  my  best  man." 

Burmah's  eyes  flashed  a  question. 

"I  mean  you,"  said  Lester,  unabashed;  and  Bur- 
mah, weak  from  illness,  felt  his  eyes  grow  moist, 
and  turned  away. 

"I  think  I'd  like  to  be  carried  back  in,  now,"  he 
said.  "But  just  inside  the  window,  so  I  can  look 
out,  and  watch  the  sunset." 

They  obeyed  his  request,  and  Arabella's  hand, 
slender  and  loving,  rearranged  his  pillow. 

"I've  been  down  long  enough,"  said  Burmah  in 
protest.  "I'm  lazy.  That's  all  that  ails  me.  I've 
got  to  get  up  and  get  busy.  I've  got  to  hit  the 
trail  again,  and  make  good." 


THE  BOOMERS.  383 

"Where  do  you  plan  to  go?  What  are  you  going 
to  do?"  asked  Lester,  tolerantly,  as  to  a  sick  boy. 

"I'm  not  quite  sure,"  replied  Burmah,  with  a 
puzzled  frown.  "Once  I  told  you,  I  think,  that, 
if  it  came  to  a  show-down,  I  could  go  back  to  New 
York,  the  biggest  of  the  jay  towns,  and  make  a 
livin'  peddlin'  gold  bricks  to  preachers  and  million- 
aires ;  but  I  can't  do  that  now.  I've  got  to  try  to 
make  money  on  the  level." 

To  his  surprise,  Lester  stood  erect  and  laughed, 
a  strange,  exultant  laugh. 

"Burmah,"  he  said,  "I  don't  know  that  we  ought 
to  talk  to  you  so  much,  but  I  may  as  well  tell 
you — may  as  well  confess.  You  told  the  people 
here  that  you  had  lied  to  them.  Well,  I'm  not 
much  better  than  that,  for  I  lied  to  you!" 

Burmah  turned  his  head,  and  frowned  at  him. 
Lester  came  closer  and  leaned  over  the  bed,  and 
looked  at  Burmah  with  eyes  that  glowed  with  admira- 
tion and  friendship. 

"You  thought,  and  perhaps  still  think,  that  I 
didn't,  or  don't  care  for  you,  old  chap.  Well,  I 
do !  More  than  you  know !  You're  the  biggest 
man  I  ever  met !" 

"Humph !"  said  Burmah,  coloring,  and  turning 
away. 

"When  you  gave  me  that  hundred  thousand  and 
asked  me  to  buy  back  the  land  in  the  Colonel's  and 
Arabella's   name,   I   didn't   do   it!" 

Burmah  lifted  his  head  from  the  pillow,  and  the 
old  sharp,  angry  gleam  came  to  his  eyes  that  had 
been  there  in  past  days  when  any  of  his  subordinates 
failed  to  do  his  will. 


884  THE  BOOMERS. 

But  Lester,  undaunted,  continued. 

"It  was  too  much.  It  was  too  big  a  thing  for 
you  to  do.  So  I  spent  the  hundred  thousand  in 
your  name,  and  the  deeds  are  filed  and  recorded, 
and  you're  not  broke !  You  don't  have  to  go  any- 
where, or  do  anything,  unless  you  want  to !  Why, 
Man,  you  are  rich!" 

They  did  not  know  until  then  that  Burmah  had 
worried  over  a  precarious  future;  but  they  saw 
his  eyes  fill  with  tears  as  his  hand  went  weakly  out 
and  clutched  the  firm,  comforting  one  that  Lester 
extended.  His  other  hand  had  crept  slowly  over 
until  his  wan  fingers  caressed  Arabella's  cheek,  as 
if  to  express  the  great  love  he  felt  for  her. 

In  the  stillness  of  the  moment,  they  heard  voices 
and  confusion  below,  and  Little  Billy,  trying  to 
escape,  opened  the  door  leading  into  the  hall.  Bur- 
mah's  eyes  followed  him,  and  he  betrayed  the  interest 
of  his  stronger  hold  on  life  by  asking: 

"What's  the  row?" 

Little  Billy  listened  a  moment,  and  then  turned 
back  with  a  grin. 

"It's  the  Zoological  Committee,  come  to  thank  the 
Colonel  for  the  unexpected  gift  of  another  moth- 
eaten  tiger,"  he  said,  chuckling.  "Listen!  The 
Colonel's  going  to  make  a  speech!" 

And  up  the  stairs  floated,  in  the  Colonel's  best 
oratorical  voice,  pitched  as  if  to  reach  a  multitude: 

"Fellow  Citizens,  I  have  insisted  that  a  gentleman, 
did  he  but  turn  his  attention  to  commercial  pur- 
suits, could  make  a  financial  success.  I  stand  before 
you  as  a  modest  example!" 


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